Church leaders from across the island of Ireland have appealed to the UK and the European Union to “act with urgency and generosity to end the economic and social uncertainty” over Brexit and to secure the best foundations for their evolving relationship.
“Fraternity is not a trend or a fashion… but the result of concrete acts”. Thus reflected Cardinal Parolin during the presentation of the Pope’s new encyclical.
Russia has alleged that the US is meddling in the religious affairs of Belarus amid anti-government protests in the country.
The Vatican has accused the US of trying to exploit the image of the Pope, and said it is “surprised” at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s attacks on its agreement with China.
“Authentic and lasting international peace cannot rest on a balance of military power, but upon mutual trust”, the Holy See has reminded the world.
Pax Christi and other Catholic organisations have joined a total of 170 peacebuilding groups from around the world in urging governments on World Peace Day this September 21 that “if we are to meet the challenges of tomorrow, we must recommit to peace today”.
Luis Ritto was from 2006 to 2011 the ambassador of the European Union to the Holy See. Today, he is the professor emeritus of the International School for Protocol and Diplomacy (ISPD) in Brussels, Belgium.
“It is impossible to make a moral case for continued nuclear weapon testing”, the Holy See has pleaded at the United Nations.
Every mainstream media outlet is covering the protests contesting the elections results in Belarus. Could this be the new Ukraine? Maybe not, but it is definitely a continuation of the White-West’s attempts to get closer to Russia’s border.
Caritas has shared its deep concerns on the dire side effects that EU sanctions are having on vulnerable civilian populations in the Middle East.
Pope Francis is to address the UN on the need for new socio-economic models post-pandemic.
Unrest is continuing in Belarus despite the departure of top opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanouskaya for neighbouring Lithuania.
The Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church have expressed their “spiritual solidarity” with Lebanon after the “great desolation” caused by the blasts in the port of Beirut on August 4.
“On behalf of all the Bishops of the European Union, I share the drama and sadness of the people of Beirut following the horrific and deadly explosions in the port of the capital of Lebanon”, the president of the Commission of the Bishops of the EU (COMECE), Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, has said.
The bishops of the European Union (EU) have expressed deep shock and sadness at the devastating explosions in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday.
In 2018, Pope Francis announced a deal that cleared the way for the reappointment of clergy in China, something that the Vatican described as “a question of great importance for the life” of the Catholic Church.
Human trafficking – the stealing of people’s freedom for profit – is a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall victim to traffickers in their own countries or abroad.
The Greek president has lobbied Pope Francis to pressure Turkey to backtrack on Hagia Sophia.
Why is Pope Francis keeping quiet on the Hagia Sophia mosque conversion? That’s the question being asked above all by Orthodox Christians after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree Friday handing control of the 6th-century basilica turned neutral museum in 1935 over to the Diyanet, the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs.
Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Hagia Sophia, formerly the Church of the Holy Wisdom, which used to be an Orthodox Christian cathedral before becoming a mosque and then a museum, could become a mosque again, with free admission.
The Turkish Council of State today postponed its decision on whether to overturn the 86-year-old legal provisions ensuring neutral museum status to the Hagia Sophia, the ancient Christian basilica turned mosque turned museum, and to allow the site to be transformed into a mosque again.
In a recent letter sent to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, H.Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, expressed his solidarity to the Christian communities in the African country, who are “living a situation of continuous attacks by terrorists, insurgents and militias, that in some cases reaches levels of genuine criminal persecution”.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the head of the world’s Orthodox Christians, has warned that the proposed conversion of the museum of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque “will disappoint millions of Christians” and “fracture” the East and the West.
The leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (Istanbul), recently expressed his concern over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans to convert the Hagia Sophia basilica into a mosque.
In the Angelus today, Pope Francis asked the European Union and the United Nations for solutions to the “serious socio-political and economic crises” afflicting Syria and neighbouring countries, urging leaders to “think of the fact that there are small children who are hungry, who do not have anything to eat”, and to hasten to make peace.
In a joint statement, the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the European Bishop’s Conference (COMECE) have offered prayers and called for peaceful dialogue ahead of a US–Russia nuclear arms control meeting scheduled for 22 June.
Ukrainian Christians have weighed in on the push to turn the museum of the mosque-basilica of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul back into a mosque again, saying that the “neutral status” of the monument is the “key to friendship” between the Muslim and Christian religions.
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Sahak II Mashalian has endorsed the idea of restoring the status of a place of worship to the mosque-basilica of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, today visited by tourists as a simple museum.
The Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called for the prevention of corruption amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Turkish Council of State, in a session next Thursday July 2, will consider opening the monumental complex of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to Islamic worship again.