“tents have sprung up on the square in front of the Church of Santa Cruz y la Soledad in the heart of Mexico City. Their occupants are migrants on a long journey to the United States, taking advantage of this crucial pit stop.”
“Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Kinshasa (DR-Congo) are renting out meeting rooms and running eateries and coffee shops to help pay the bills and attain financial autonomy”
“In today's Nicaragua, the government suppresses dissent, muzzling the media and expelling religious orders. This situation is even worse than the late 1980s repression in El Salvador, according to the Jesuit provincial in Central America at that time.”
“Pope Francis has urged Catholics to reject "the temptation to divide the wheat from the weeds", a metaphor for acting abruptly and even violently to bring about a "pure society" or even a "pure Church" that simply does not exist. ”
“The burning of the church, located the central region of Sagaing, was only the latest in a "bad streak" for the Christians. The country on Feb. 1 marked the 2nd anniversary of the coup and in a few months it will be entering 3rd year of civil war. Catholics have been increasingly under attack”
“"The pope does not know Africa, but for him it is the exploited continent. And his concern is for the poor to not be exploited," say Paul Béré, a Jesuit theologian from Burkina Faso. "He places the poor at the heart of the Church's magisterium. And that resonates with Africa."”
“Inverness is no exception. The Church of Scotland offers other places of worship to anyone who might want. In Maastricht, in the Netherlands, the former Dominican convent has become a bookstore. ”
“A 129-year-old Catholic church is the latest target in a series of military attacks on Christians in Myanmar. The church has been burnt down in Sagaing Region, the north-western part that borders India and is home to descendants of the 16th and 17th century Portuguese mercenaries.”
“After three years of inactivity, the former St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Ottawa, Ontario will soon be reopened. But this time as a mosque. The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada is plans to close out its purchase of the building in March, the community's founder, Imam Syed Soharwardy”
“Almost all church buildings that were constructed before 1905 when France enacted its current law separating Church and State are publicly owned. That means it's up to the state to maintain a vast majority of the country's more than 32,000 churches, 6,000 chapels and 87 cathedrals.”
“Despite the findings from any number of independent inquiries and investigations of the closed and self- referential culture of the institution, the official Catholic Church stance remains defensive and controlling.”
“While many Catholics have been shaken by recent revelations of sexual abuse by bishops, the 6th World Day of the Poor is a reminder that the Church is more than its leaders”
“Cardinal Zen is not facing jail time, and the fine he faces — $1,274 (about €1,269) — seems paltry in light of the media and diplomatic importance of this case. However, his sentence will have an undeniable symbolic impact, as this figure of Chinese Catholicism”
“Christians remain suspected of supporting armed militias, whether ethnic or Bamar (the majority ethnic group in Myanmar). Thus, on April 8, a few days before Holy Week, the army invaded the Mandalay Cathedral to make a search.”
“Left-wing militants clashed with right-wing members of a traditionalist Catholic parish in the city of Angers in Western France on Sunday during the annual May Day Parade in favor of workers and trade unionists.”
“But for years the UISG has been putting an emphasis on the intellectual work of women religious and their involvement in social and political issues. This is a way of getting the message across, without breaking the taboo.”
“How can we help the poorest in society have a voice? Our experience has shown us that speaking out is often a major difficulty for the very poor, for many reasons. They find it difficult to express themselves alone in public.”
“Moran strongly insists, Catholic as well as Protestant Christians have failed to construct an organization that can retain a sense of community and an exercise of power-as-mutuality. Experts in group dynamics, he notes, say that the ideal size of a community is eight to eleven people. ”
“Church and state are confronting one another right now over the federal freedom of religion bill and the Victorian anti-discrimination bill. Whenever such confrontation occurs it reveals our priorities. We define our identity by what we choose to fight for hardest. ”
Historic church in Mexico City transformed into a migrant camp
Parishes in African diocese launch money-making ventures to cover expenses
Today’s Nicaragua: Worse than El Salvador in the 1980s?
Pope warns against trying to “divide the wheat from the weeds"
Tensions for Christians in Myanmar, two years after the coup
The pope goes to DR Congo, South Sudan, cultivating a special relationship with Africa
Should we demolish or sell off our churches?
Myanmar junta wreaks havoc and torches a Catholic church
Catholic church in Canada’s capital to become a mosque
France’s ex-culture minister predicts demolition of churches
Why is the Catholic Church still investigating itself?
The Barque of the Church amidst the storm
Reopening of the trial of Cardinal Zen in Hong Kong
Visiting bishops from Myanmar break silence on problems back home
In the name of Kyrill
Clashes break out in front of French church during May Day Parade
Behind the pope’s “fighting” words to women religious
Fidelity to the Gospel measured by including the poor
A challenge to all believers to get the Church of Jesus Christ in order
Church should prioritise wider community interests over its own
