A Lenten pilgrimage through a modern metropolis brings the sacred together with the ordinary. The Stations of the Cross are given a modern twist in Manchester and London this Lent with a trail taking visitors to different city-centre venues to view art works that reflect grief, loss and transformation.
French secularism, or laïcité, treats religion as a dirty little secret, and manifests itself as a restriction of public prayer or the open expression of religious identity.
As a cinemagoer, I’m being carefully targeted for conversion to a philosophy of life. If I don’t like it, that’s my problem. After all, this philosophy of life is completely self-evident to the film-makers, and assumed to be acceptable and attractive to every sane citizen. So advertising our Christian history is not intruding dangerous propaganda into a neutral and benign space. It is competing with existing propaganda, existing philosophies and ideologies. No wonder it’s a challenge for some.
"We are well aware that the recent events and acts of violence which have shaken your country were not grounded in properly religious motives. Those who claim to believe in God must also be men and women of peace. Christians, Muslims and members of the traditional religions have lived together in peace for many years,...
His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols addressed the Inter-faith Consultation Conference on mobilising faith communities in ending sexual violence in conflicts on 9 February 2015 at Lancaster House. Echoing the words of Pope Francis, the Cardinal said that "sexual violence as an instrument of warfare and conflict is a deep wound in the body of humanity", and "that it is as old as humanity is a cause for our lasting shame."
In recent years we've come to think of atheism as an evangelical creed not unlike Christianity. An atheist, we tend to assume, is someone who thinks science should be the basis of our beliefs and tries to convert others to this view of things. In the type of atheism that's making the most noise today, religion is a primitive theory of how the world works - an intellectual error without human value, which we'd be better without.
Chinese Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang of Wenzhou was joined by 20 other priests in a protest outside government offices in Wenzhou city to stop the cross-removal campaign in Zhejiang province. The appearance of Bishop Zhu, 89, who walks with a cane, leading the July 24 protest inspired many local Catholics, sources told.
Authorities have stepped up persecution of underground Catholics in Hebei province with the detention of a bishop and a priest as well as the demolition of an altar that left two laywomen injured, all in separate incidents this month.
In the Philippines, the Claretians specialize in weaving back together the shattered lives of residents, immersing themselves in communities, and focusing on service rather than just evangelizing. The beatification of Romero, a cleric killed by right-wing thugs for his support of the poor and oppressed of El Salvador, comes at a time when the Philippines is polarized by a proposed law that seeks to cement the peace agreement signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Pro-Sri Lankan government activists stormed a meeting between families of the disappeared and foreign diplomats in Colombo on Monday evening. The pro-government mob, led by a group of Buddhist monks, forcibly entered the meeting and threatened the Tamil participants.
Pattaramon, 21, told Reuters Television she refused the abortion on religious grounds and carried both him and his twin sister to term six months ago. The parents, who have not been identified, took only the girl back with them to Australia. The boy, Gammy, needs surgery for a congenital heart condition, according to media reports.
The courage of the Brigettines. · English sisters who saved Jews and deserting Germans. The subject of the plight of Jews in Rome during World War II continues to excite much interest, often generating more heat than light. The central task, however, is to discover the true stories of what occurred.
Lord Falconer's Assisted Dying bill, which would allow doctors to hasten the death of terminally ill patients thought to have under six months to live, passed its second reading in the Lords on Friday despite vigorous campaigning by faith leaders, and now passes to committee stage.
The Middle East's Christian Diaspora. The Christian population of Iraq, which has its roots in the ancient Assyrians who embraced Christianity in biblical times, numbered 1.3 million before 2003. Over the next decade, nearly a million Christians fled to neighboring countries. Many who became refugees fled to the West if they could.
The International Catholic Film Festival. The aim of the festival is to give space and visibili The aim of the festival is to give space and visibility to producers and directors of feature films, documentaries, docu-fiction, television series and short films, to promote the "positive models and universal moral values” which are therefore consistent with Christianity.
Don't make our mistake: As assisted suicide bill goes to Lords, Dutch watchdog who once backed euthanasia warns UK of 'slippery slope' to mass deaths. Theo Boer, a European assisted suicide watchdog, said 'don't do it'. In Netherlands euthanasia has been legal since 2002. However, in six years the numbers of deaths have doubled
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“The extraordinary thing about the sisters right now is their commitment, regardless of the danger, to stand with their people and not abandon them,” Markham said.The sisters are well aware of the danger in their situation, especially now that ISIS controls Mosul, at least for the time being. All anyone can do for them is pray.
US secretary of state says America is 'actively considering sanctions' as ethnic violence spreads. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has warned of a possible genocide in South Sudan, and raised the threat of sanctions against the leaders of warring factions in the world's newest country.
Chinese Catholics weep as statues depicting the Passion of Christ are removed or hidden from public view in what they say is reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution
Holy statues depicting Biblical scenes including Jesus’ crucifixion have been destroyed, removed or "hidden" by authorities in a city known as China’s Jerusalem
While Shouwang has been a target of the government for many years, the latest move against underground churches is part of a broader crackdown on dissent since the regime of leader Xi Jinping came to power in late 2012. The new government is targeting any organization perceived as a threat to Chinese Communist Party policy.
