Confession marathon - 95-year-old priest walked three miles while hearing confessions During a recent “Penitential Walk” in Brazil, Friar Roberto, a 95-year-old Capuchin priest, walked more than three-and-a-half miles while hearing confessions. Over 30,000 people took part in the five mile walk in the northeast Brazilian Archdioceses of Fortaleza and Salvador [...]
Wealth and power are good, but only when used justly to serve everyone Pope Francis, who is well-known for championing the poor, has spoken out against the abuse of wealth and power: “Wealth and power are realities which can be good and useful for the common good, if they are put [...]
SYRIA - “Hoping that the ceasefire will be the beginning of the end of the war” A representative of the Syriac Orthodox church in Syria has expressed his hopes that the current ceasefire will be the beginning of the end of the war in Syria. When asked about the temporary end of [...]
IRAQ - British Sunni imams visit Iraq in bid to counter Islamic State propaganda in the UK A group of Sunni imams made the first-ever visit to Iraq by British Muslim religious leaders to see first hand the front line in the fight against ISIS. During the eight-day fact-finding mission, [...]
UNITED STATES News updateSecretary of State John Kerry stated this week that that ISIS has been committing genocide against religious minorities in the Middle. This is only the second time the executive branch has used the term in relation to an ongoing conflict. The formal designation comes days after the House [...]
CAMEROON – Everybody is afraid of the suicide bombers On Friday 19 February a double suicide bombing in a market in Mémé in northern Cameroon claimed the lives of at least 20 people and left several dozen injured. The attack by two female suicide bombers, is thought to have been the [...]
Christian boys accused of mocking Islam sentenced to jail for 5 years in Egypt Three Christian boys aged 15 to 18 were sentenced to five years in jail by a court in Egypt's Minya province. They were accused of mocking Islam last year after recording a video in January 2015 while [...]
Six ways to live Lent as Pope Frances asks In his message for Lent 2016 Pope Francis asks us that "the season of Lent in this Jubilee Year be lived more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God's Mercy". Here is a short list of things you can [...]
People sped to safety as villagers ransacked church buildings in Ethiopia Bishop Abraham Desta has expressed his horror after the torching and looting of a Church compound in Gighessa parish, Ethiopia, on 18 February by the very people whom the priests and Sisters were helping. Gighessa parish – one of the [...]
New emergency aid package for Syria People under constant threat of bombardment in the Syrian city of Aleppo will receive a new emergency relief package in the latest round of aid payments announced by the UK Head of international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Neville Kyrke-Smith, National [...]
