National security trial opens in Hong Kong for prominent Catholic activist publisher Jimmy Lai
HONG KONG — A landmark national security trial opened Monday in Hong Kong for prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a law imposed by Beijing to crush dissidents. Lai, a 76 year-old Catholic, was arrested in August 2020 during a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement […]
2 men charged in Pennsylvania church school van crash that killed teenage girl, injured 5
PITTSBURGH — Two men accused of racing on a public highway in western Pennsylvania are facing charges in a crash involving a school van that left a teenage girl dead. The crash also sent three other juveniles and two critically injured adults — including one of the defendants — to hospitals. Allegheny County police said […]
Convent-made delicacies, a Christmas favorite, help monks and nuns win fans and pay the bills
MEXICO CITY — It’s the fortnight before Christmas and all through the world’s Catholic convents, nuns and monks are extra busy preparing the traditional delicacies they sell to a loyal fan base even in rapidly secularizing countries. For many monastic communities, especially those devoted to contemplative life and with vows of poverty, producing cookies, fruitcakes, […]
U.S. Bishops Renew Call for Peace After Christian Women Reportedly Killed in Gaza Church
Screenshot Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at the USCCB fall plenary assembly Nov. 14, 2023. Archbishop Broglio said the U.S. bishops joined in the Pope’s renewed call for peace in the Holy Land, which the Holy Father issued at his Sunday Angelus.
IDF denies responsibility for killing of Palestinian Christians at Gaza church
Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza at Christmas 2021. / Credit: Anas-Mohammed/Shutterstock Rome Newsroom, Dec 18, 2023 / 10:35 am (CNA). The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has denied culpability over the deaths of two Christian Palestinian women … […]
This Palestinian bishop is worried Christians will disappear from Gaza
“After this war, I fear there will be no more Christians in Gaza after a continuous presence of more than 18 centuries,” Bishop William Shomali said in an exclusive interview.
Irish diocese to arrange funeral services without priests (Irish Independent)
The Diocese of Clogher in Ireland has commissioned 40 “funeral ministers” to preside at church services and burials, because of a shortage of available priests. Although the lay-led services could not include a funeral Mass, Bishop Larry Duffy said in a pastoral letter that the arrangement would not be “a lessening of service to families,” […]
US State Department urges release of Jimmy Lai (US Department of State)
As democracy activist Jimmy Lai faces trial in Hong Kong, on national-security charges that could bring a life sentence, the US State Department has issued a call for his immediate release. “The United States condemns the prosecution of pro-democracy advocate and media owner Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong under the PRC-imposed National Security Law. Lai […]
US bishops’ leader calls for ceasefire in Gaza (USCCB)
Reacting to the report that civilians had been killed at a Catholic parish in Gaza, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called for “an immediate cessation of all hostilities, the release of hostages, and for earnest negotiations toward a peaceful resolution of this conflict.” Archbishop Timothy Broglio said: “Such violence […]
Jerusalem patriarchate reports deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza parish (Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
An Israeli sniper shot and killed two women inside the compound of the Holy Family parish in Gaza on December 16, the Latin-rite Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced that same day. The patriarchate also said that an Israeli tank had opened fire on a home for disabled people run by the Missionaries of Charity, forcing […]