A mission to save ancient heritage from looters in the Judean desert has led to the discovery of a 1900-year old scroll, the first such discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed more than seven decades ago. Archaeologists also found a 6000-year-old child’s skeleton and the oldest complete basket in the world.
Spain's Catholic bishops, after opposing the country's social-democratic government on education issues, have now spoken out against plans to legalize euthanasia."Life is a gift, euthanasia a failure," said a document from the Spanish episcopal conference.
When people hear the word "Fukushima," everyone has in mind an explosion at a nuclear plant and towns evacuated due to a radiation discharge. But in terms of victims, the tragedy of 10 years ago should bear the name of Miyagi, the Japanese prefecture that was home to more than 70 percent of the victims — and they did not die from radiation.
During the 45-minute interview at his converted monastery residence in the Vatican gardens, Pope Emeritus talked about President Joe Biden's election, expressing some concerns about Biden’s policy stance on abortion. “It’s true, he’s Catholic and observant. And personally, he is against abortion,” Benedict said.
Peter Piot, one of the world’s leading virologists, who identified Ebola, studied HIV and is now part of the intense worldwide effort to understand the latest deadly global killer: the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, which has already killed more than two million people around the world.
From March 5 to 8, 2021, Pope Francis will visit the troubled Land of Two Rivers, a common translation of the old name, Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. Accepting the invitations of the Republic of Iraq and the local Catholic Church, Pope Francis is due to make an apostolic journey to the country, visiting Baghdad, the Plain of Ur, which is linked to the memory of Abraham, the city of Erbil, as well as Mosul, Qaraqosh, on the Plain of Nineveh, and Najaf.
In Iraq’s holiest city, a pontiff will meet a revered ayatollah and make history with a message of coexistence in a place plagued by bitter divisions. One is the chief pastor of the world-wide Catholic Church, the other a pre-eminent figure in Shiite Islam whose opinion holds powerful sway on the Iraqi street and beyond. Their encounter will resonate across Iraq, even crossing borders into neighboring, mainly Shiite Iran.
"The Chinese virus is the worst. It is a leaked biological weapon," the 77-year-old Dominican cardinal said. He also maintained that his claims could be supported by the military." All military experts around the world are convinced of this, but they are either afraid to or do not dare say it," Cardinal Duka said.
A leading French rabbi explores the hatred of the Jewish people as seen through the lens of those who endure it, their sacred texts and rabbinical tradition. Anti-Semites frequently claim that the Jews’ chosen-ness gives them a justification for being angry. Just who are these people who think they are so special?
My commitment to religious life gives me a freedom that others don't have, and which sometimes surprises people.I know that in my congregation I will be taken care of. Even though we take a vow of poverty, in many ways we are not poor. But if religious life offers freedom, it also demands responsibility. One should not be afraid to take a stand.