Thousands worldwide pay tribute to murdered priest On Monday morning two young men burst into Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church during mass carrying fake bombs and a handgun and took Father Hamel, three nuns and two churchgoers as hostage. The alarm was raised after one of the nuns escaped but sadly Fr Hamel was killed before police...
Message from Pope Francis ahead of visit to WYD in Poland – Vatican Radio Ahead of Pope Francis’ 15th Apostolic Visit abroad and his first trip to Poland, July 27-31, the Pope has sent a video-message to all the young people gathered in Krakow for World Youth Day and to all Polish people. During...
PAKISTAN – Christian man charged with blasphemy ‘for insulting Muhammad’ in Whatsapp poem A Christian man, Nadeem Masihm, is on the run in Pakistan after he was charged with blasphemy for allegedly sending his Muslim friend an offensive poem on WhatsApp. The friend accused Nadeem of insulting Islam, claiming the poem was derogatory about the Prophet...
SYRIA – Rebuilding Homs cathedral brings new hope after siege ends The Melkite Catholic Cathedral of Homs is dedicated to Our Lady of Peace. However, in the course of Syria‘s bloody civil war it has suffered the same fate as more than 200 other Christian churches and been extensively damaged, not to say almost destroyed....
SOUTH SUDAN – On the brink of civil war Church leaders appeal for end to violence as thousands take refuge in churches Heavy fighting has erupted again in Southern Sudan on the five year anniversary of the formation of the world’s youngest nation, raising fears of a return to the civil war that erupted in...
THAILAND – Year of Mercy Jubilee for sick and disabled people The Catholic church in Thailand organised a special Jubilee to mark the Year of Mercy. Hundreds of sick, aged and disabled people from many parishes of the diocese took part in a procession and passed through the Holy Door of the cathedral of the...
VENEZUELA – ‘The People Are Afraid’ Venezuela was once the country of dreams—but those dreams have turned into nightmares. Such is the verdict of one of the country’s bishops. Case in point, Bishop Jaime Villarroel of the Diocese of Carúpano, told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need: “Most of the young people...
EGYPT – New hope of resuming dialogue between Vatican and Al-Azhar There is renewed hope that dialogue will be relaunched between the Vatican and Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. Relations between them have been strained since 2011 when the Egyptians claimed that Pope Benedict XVI had “interfered” in Egypt’s internal affairs by condemning a bomb attack...
Year of Mercy – Rio cardinal celebrates his birthday with the homeless Inspired by the Year of Mercy, Cardinal Orani Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro wanted to show his personal commitment to the Pope’s initiative. He decided to celebrate his 66th birthday in a special way by spending time with a group of...
Emergency aid for victims of the severe flooding in parishes of the Turkana region The Turkana region of northwest Kenya has since time immemorial been home to nomadic or seminomadic peoples. Many of them have now become settled today, but the majority still find themselves forced by shortage of water and grazing to...
