Over the weekend, the heads of European bishops’ conferences held a virtual pow-wow to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on both the Church and society, highlighting new forms of poverty and reduced numbers at Sunday Masses as key areas of concern.
Nury Turkel, a Uighur American on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, who is a human rights advocate for Uighur Muslims and others persecuted for their religious faith, made Time magazine’s 2020 list of the world’s 100 most influential people.
On Sept. 27, Pope Francis marked the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, asking the world to pray for those forced to flee their homes at the close of a deadly week in which around 200 migrants seeking entry into Europe drowned in the Mediterranean.
On Sept. 25, Pope Francis addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the second time during his pontificate.
Click to read the full transcript of Pope Francis’ Sept. 25 address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Pope Francis has accepted Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes and his renunciation of the rights associated with being a cardinal, the Vatican announced late Sept. 24.
Shakeel Rafael’s brother is currently sitting in a jail cell in Pakistan awaiting trial on blasphemy charges. Nadeem Samson has been behind bars for three years and his family has asked the State Department to put pressure on the government of Pakistan to release him.
Although the thought of standing with throngs of people for hours at a time seems foreign now in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it was something tens of thousands of Catholics were happy to do in Washington, New York and Philadelphia when Pope Francis made his visit to the United States five years ago.
From the “dog that didn’t bark” files, it seems highly curious at first blush that a major peace accord for the Middle East was signed at the White House – with an explicitly religious reference in the title, no less – and, so far, the Vatican has had absolutely nothing to say about it.
Marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Cardinal Pietro Parolin called on the United Nations to renew its commitment to the ideals upon which it was founded.
