Benedict XVI is arguing that celibacy must remain the condition for ordination to the priesthood just as Pope Francis considers whether to allow married men to be ordained to serve in parts of the Amazon.
Mary Nguyen closes the door carefully and says evening prayers with her two children in her room whenever her husband comes home late from work. And Nguyen, who lives in the house of her Buddhist parents-in-law, quietly takes them to weekend Masses once or twice a month at a church near her own parents’ home in Vietnam’s southern Ho Chi Minh City.
The Association, "Solidarity with South Sudan", a collaborative commitment of religious institutes offering aid, in many forms, to the world's youngest nation, has just concluded its General Assembly in Rome.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila has been appointed the new prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Vatican announced on Dec. 8. The 62-year-old Philippine prelate is only the second Asian to lead the congregation, popularly known by its old name of Propaganda Fide.
The number of people joining religious life is fast dwindling. There are some sociological reasons for this, such as fewer children in families and growing job opportunities for women. However, some other reasons could be seen in the way religious life is carried out now.
Many [at the Vatican] cannot believe that in the Philippines there is a chapel in a mall," he said during the celebration of the second of nine-days of early morning Christmas Masses in the Philippines.
"They cannot believe that evangelization can happen in commercial centers," "They cannot believe that every first Friday there is a Mass in offices, banks," he said.
Opinion polls show a majority in favour of remaining in the EU, yet also show a majority in favour of Boris Johnson- Let's take seriously for a moment the idea that lies behind calling the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum "the will of the people". It presupposes some sort of collective mind, which can think through all the options and make a decision.
The Bishops of England and Wales have urged Catholics to engage in the General Election, not to “watch from the balcony”, and in particular to ask candidates where they stand on issues such as abortion and euthanasia, climate change and care for migrants.
An estimated 50,000 Christians cutting across denominations, including the Catholic Church, demonstrated near the state secretariat in capital Thiruvananthapuram on Nov. 27, demanding a law to administer all Christian properties in a participatory and transparent manner.
Next week’s ballot could decide whether the UK is set upon an internationalist future of peace and progress, or a nationalist future of slump and war. The stakes for the country, Europe and indeed the world could not be higher, argues a leading academic.
The wooden sculptures that were stolen from a church in Rome and thrown into the Tiber are not considered idols by the Amazonians, says a Spanish missionary who has been living with indigenous tribes in the rainforest for over a decade.
Speaking at a seminal conference at the Vatican on children and the internet, Pope Francis has said that while digital technologies have made invaluable advances in education and communication, they have also exposed children to abuse and exploitation on a scale that is increasing “exponentially”.
On Nov. 12, hundreds of Catholics attended a special Mass at Chi Hoa Church in Ho Chi Minh City to venerate late bishops and priests who had devoted their lives in service, and they prayed for them to be in heaven. Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese has one million Catholics who are served by 830 religious and diocesan priests.
He said that "a world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary" and urged political leaders not to forget that "these weapons cannot protect us from current threats to national and international security." He wanted world leaders to reflect on how the world's resources can be used for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to achieve integrated human development.
Pope Francis today praised Thailand for how it had allowed minority Christians to live in harmony with Buddhists for more than four centuries. He was speaking at a meeting with Buddhist Supreme Patriarch Ariyavongsagatanana IX at Wat Ratchabophit Sathit Maha Simaram on the second day of his seven-day trip to Thailand and Japan.
In an apostolic letter issued motu proprio on October 28, Francis declared that “from now on, the current Vatican Secret Archive, nothing changing in its identity, its structure, and its mission, be called the Vatican Apostolic Archive.”
Bishops of a Vietnamese diocese that is home to many migrants found dead in England have called on people to express their solidarity with the victims and their relatives. The illegal migrants — 31 men and eight women — were found dead in the back of a container truck in Essex on Oct. 23. Reportedly most of them are from the two dioceses of Vinh and Ha Tinh in Vietnam.
The Synod the Amazon is called to be an occasion for “conversion.” Ecclesial events need to be reflected upon and a historical reading made to perceive how God breaks into history even in contradictory conditions and to experience this action powerfully in the present ecclesial moment (cf. Evangelii Gaudium no. 25). A wise reading of the signs of the time confirms that the call to conversion often comes from the “peripheries,” including geographical ones.
A centuries-old diocese in northern Vietnam that has suffered much religious persecution has officially opened its first pastoral center to meet religious needs for local Catholics. The newly built Pastoral Center of Hai Phong Diocese was formally inaugurated on Oct. 4 by Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam.
