To mark the UN’s International Day against Violence against Women and Girls on Sunday, a personal note from Pope Francis has been made public by a well-known Italian woman whose face was permanently disfigured in 2012 after her husband showered it with acid.
As government delegations from across the globe prepare for a Dec. 2-14 U.N. conference on climate change, Catholic organizations are pledging to make the church’s voice heard.
Red light will bathe churches and monuments in countries around to world to highlight the plight of persecuted Christians.
The International Union of Superiors General has called on women religious who have suffered abuse to come forward and report it to their congregations and church and state authorities.
The chaotic scene in Tijuana Nov. 25 — when migrants, including women and children, were repelled from the U.S. border with tear gas — prompted the closure of one of the world’s busiest border crossings. It also showed the increasing impatience and despair of thousands of caravan participants, who could spend months in an uncomfortable camp as they wait to present asylum claims to U.S. officials.
A clerical sexual abuse survivor calls a summit on child protection that will take place at the Vatican Feb. 21-24, involving presidents of all bishops’ conferences around the world as well as the pope’s own top aides, a “last chance” for the Vatican to be taken seriously.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, named Friday by Pope Francis to the planning committee for February’s high-stakes Vatican meeting on sex abuse, says the pope is seeking the “full involvement of the global Church in assuring the protection of children.”
The Catholic Church – both as a community of believers and the institution at large – faces many challenges in the world today. And in Asia, where there are serious threats in terms of nuclear weapons, and natural disasters, the Church has a big role to play. Tokyo Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D., spoke about many of these challenges in an interview with The Tablet.
As the rich get richer, the increasing misery and cries of the poor are ignored every day, Pope Francis said.
Cardinal Orani Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro blessed the sculpture “Homeless Jesus” Nov. 18, ending a weeklong series of events by Brazil’s Catholic Church to celebrate World Day of the Poor.
