Russia admits warship hit in turbulent Christmas
Russia has admitted that one of its warships was hit in a Ukrainian attack on a Black Sea port in Russian-occupied Crimea early Tuesday, killing at least one person. The strike on the peninsula comes after Ukraine celebrated its first Christmas Day under a new calendar amid ongoing clashes. Read all
Christmas 2023: May the Lord’s birth inspire peacemaking and respect
The birth of Jesus is the most powerful sign and message of hope in a world darkened by the shadows of fear and uncertainty. For Christmas 2023, Vatican Radio has asked religious leaders and heads of Christian charitable organizations for their reflections on the theme, “The Lord’s birth is the birth of peace.” Today’s message […]
Mongolia’s tiny Catholic community adds three converts on Christmas Eve
ULAANBAATAR – One of the world’s smallest Catholic flocks is growing in number, as the Mongolian church added three native women to its ranks on Christmas Eve, nearly four months after Pope Francis’s visit earlier this year. There’s no other country on earth where the addition of just three converts would represent an 0.2 percent […]
Following other Africans, Cameroon bishops deliver firm ‘no’ on same-sex blessings
YAOUNDÈ, Cameroon – Bishops across Africa, from Nairobi to Yaoundé and from Cotonou to Lilongwe, have registered strong reactions to a new Vatican document on the blessing of same-sex relationships, generally suggesting such relationships are both unethical and contrary to Africa tradition. As a result, those bishops have said, the limited authorization for blessings provided […]
LGBT+ activists across Latin America welcome Vatican move on same-sex blessings
SÃO PAULO – Catholic members of LGBT+ communities in Latin America have welcomed a new Vatican declaration on the possibility of blessings for same-sex couples, including in nations where civil legislation does not recognize same-sex relationships. Catholic faith communities that work with LGBT+ members have been formally organized over the past decades in Mexico, Costa […]
HOLD — Holy Land: Instrumentalization
In these days following Christmas in a land devastated by war, it is wise to refrain from annexing God
HOLD – Burkina Faso: “It is up to us to now find the means for evangelization”
“I ask Christians not to expect everything to come from Europe as before”, urges bishop of a diocese in Burkina Faso
HOLD — What happened to Ali Agca, the man John Paul II forgave 40 years ago?
Forty-two years since the attack to assassinate John Paul II, reasons behind his assailant Mehmet Ali Agça’s actions still remain a mystery
The Fifth Prophecy of Humanae Vitae
In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI prophesied four serious consequences if contraception became embraced by the culture and the family: infidelity/moral decadence, lost respect for and use of women by their husbands, government’s abuse of power, and man’s absolute dominion. Tragically, all four prophecies have come to fruition, wreaking havoc on the Church […]
The Inner Search: Book Review
“To become a Christian saint is nothing more than to take Christ’s words at face value and live up to them,” says monk-writer Dom Hubert Van Zeller in his book, The Inner Search. When I first picked up this book, I had never heard of it or of Van Zeller. Newly reprinted in 2023 by […]