Catholic News Agency, Author at Catholic Herald

Catholic News Agency

Parolin: Religious freedom under attack from ‘new human rights’

April 04, 2019

The Vatican Secretary of State condemned the ongoing abuse of religious freedom in many parts of the world, calling upon the media to highlight religious persecution wherever it occurs. “Despite so many efforts to promote and reinforce the fundamental human right of religious freedom, we are actually witnessing a continued deterioration, we might even say

Chinese city offers cash incentives to informants on illegal religious groups

April 02, 2019

Guangzhou, the capital of China’s Guangdong province, is offering to pay citizens in exchange for information on “illegal religious groups” as the Communist Party of China continues to crack down on all forms of religious activity. As the Associated Press reported, the website of the Guangzhou Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs states that it

Underground bishop detained in China’s Hebei province

March 30, 2019

A bishop of the underground Church in China’s Hebei province and his vicar general were placed in detention this week, and a lay Catholic activist was jailed in Hong Kong. According to UCA News, Coadjutor Bishop Augustine Cui Tai of Xuanhua and his vicar general, Father Zhang Jianlin, were detained by officials of Hebei province

Elderly women wielding canes fend off man attacking priest in Canada

March 28, 2019

Police are investigating an incident in Edmonton, Canada, after a posse of elderly women beat back a priest’s attacker with their walking canes. It was after evening Mass at Our Lady Queen of Poland parish on March 13, and Father Marcin Mironiuk was outside saying goodbye to parishioners when a young man, roughly 25 years

Cardinal Cupich warns against ‘radical’ Illinois abortion bills

March 27, 2019

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago has spoken out against a pair of Illinois abortion bills, calling them a radical and disturbing movement away from the common good. In a March 23 letter to the people of his archdiocese, Cupich encouraged Catholics to take a stand against the legislation. One of the bills – introduced as

Cardinal Ezzati leaves Santiago with ‘head held high’

March 26, 2019

Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, whose resignation as Archbishop of Santiago was accepted Saturday, said he is leaving office “very grateful” and with his “head held high” regarding the way the archdiocese dealt with cases of sexual abuse and cover-up. Ezzati, 77, has faced accusations that he was involved in covering up the crimes of several

After outcry, UK to reconsider rejected asylum application of Iranian Christian

March 26, 2019

The British Home Office has agreed to reconsider the asylum claim of an Iranian Christian, after it was shown on Twitter that the department had denied the application on the grounds that Christianity is not a peaceful religion. “The Home Office have agreed to withdraw their refusal and to reconsider our client’s asylum application, offering

Why praying to Santa Muerte is ‘really wrong’

March 25, 2019

The Archbishop of Santa Fe said recently that people praying to “Saint Death” won’t find the answers they’re looking for. Archbishop John Wester told the Associated Press recently that Catholics praying to the skeletal figure, popular in Central America, may be fooled into thinking that “Santa Muerte” is an approved devotional practice in the Church.

Canadian priest stabbed at Mass ‘eager’ to return

March 25, 2019

Father Claude Grou is out of hospital and grateful for the groundswell of support he received after he was stabbed by an assailant while celebrating a televised Mass at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal Friday morning. The 77-year-old priest said in a statement that the words of support he had received “warm my heart and

Civil disobedience is a fundamental right, says Venezuelan cardinal

March 22, 2019

A Venezuelan cardinal has called on state security forces to exercise civil disobedience when given orders to use lethal force against citizens. “State security agencies exist not to take care of the government but to take care of the citizens,” said Cardinal Baltazar Porras, at a press conference this week. “Therefore every order that is

Increasing number of US Catholics concerned about Christian persecution

March 22, 2019

Nearly half of American Catholics say global persecution of Christians is “very severe,” a 16 percent increase from a year ago, according to a new survey commissioned by the papal charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Despite this increase in awareness, the American Catholics surveyed ranked human trafficking, poverty and the refugee crisis

St John Paul II’s long-time secretary defends former pope’s handling of abuse cases

March 22, 2019

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, a personal friend and close collaborator of St. John Paul II, this week defended the Polish pope’s record on the abuse crisis, which has lately come under criticism from some areas. “The emerging opinions that John Paul II was sluggish in guiding the Church’s response to the sexual abuse of minors by

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