In the Press

Caritas Internationalis elects Alistair Dutton as its new secretary general

May 19, 2023

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Six months after Pope Francis dismissed its top administrators, Caritas Internationalisā€™ new leadership team elected Alistair Dutton, who also serves on the board of Stop Climate Chaos and Jesuit Refugee Services, as its new secretary general Monday night. Dutton is the chief executive of Caritas Scotland, which works to build ā€œa green and just worldā€…

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Franceā€™s Catholic clergy to carry ID cards proving they are in good standing

May 18, 2023

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Catholic clergy in France will soon carry a standardized identification card linked to a national database that shows whether they are currently in good standing and can celebrate Mass and hear confessions. ā€œIt aims to prevent impostors [false priests or deacons] from continuing to act to the detriment of the faithful and the sacraments,ā€ the…

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Spanish bishops: Abortion as a right makes the unborn child ā€˜a true undocumented personā€™

May 17, 2023

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The Spanish Bishopsā€™ Conference (CEE) criticized the May 9 ruling by the countryā€™s constitutional court (TC) that upheld abortion as a right, thus, it said, making the human person developing in the womb ā€œa true undocumented person.ā€ The executive commission of the CEE said in a statement that it deplores that the TC affirmed ā€œthat…

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What itā€™s like for the Church in Venezuela, a country in social and economic crisis

May 16, 2023

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Luis Vildoso, project manager for the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Venezuela, shared the current situation in the country and in the Catholic Church ā€” and how the Church is maintaining itself in the midst of the social and economic crisis. The aid worker, who recently visited 11 jurisdictions in…

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Pope Francis adds Coptic Orthodox martyrs to liturgical book of saints

May 15, 2023

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Pope Francis said May 11 that the Coptic Orthodox martyrs killed by ISIS in 2015 will be added to the Catholic Churchā€™s official list of saints. He also received a relic of the martyrsā€™ blood as a gift.ā€œI am glad to announce today that, with the consent of Your Holiness, these 21 martyrs will be…

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Thousands turn out for pro-life march in Spain to oppose laws that threaten human life

March 19, 2023

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Thousands turned out for the Yes to Life march in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday, where the sponsoring organizations expressed their opposition to ā€œall laws and practices that threaten life and human nature at any moment of its existence, as well as the businesses and ideologies that sustain them.ā€ The event was held this year somewhat…

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Historic building near Vatican to become Four Seasons hotel

March 18, 2023

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A Catholic order of knighthood has signed a leasing agreement that will allow a Four Seasons hotel to manage part of a historic building close to the Vatican. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem signed an agreement with Fort Partners, a Miami-based development company, on March 10, according to a statement published Tuesday. The…

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Police looking for man who vandalized Connecticut Catholic church

March 17, 2023

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Police are searching for a man who burglarized and vandalized Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Gales Ferry, Conn., early March 11. The Ledyard Police Department reported that the man broke into the church, smashing windows and attempting to break into rooms using a crowbar. The police reported that the man further vandalized the church…

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Dictatorship in Nicaragua dissolves John Paul II Catholic University

March 11, 2023

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In a new blow to the Church in Nicaragua, the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega has ordered the legal status of several institutions to be revoked, including that of John Paul II Catholic University. On March 7, the Ministry of the Interior published in the regimeā€™s official newspaper, La Gaceta, the text of Ministerial Agreement 28-2023-OSFL,…

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Pope Francis encourages filmmakers to ā€˜reawaken wonderā€™

February 20, 2023

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A good movie has the power to inspire wonder and to evangelize by reflecting the beauty of Godā€™s creation, Pope Francis told filmmakers at the Vatican on Monday. ā€œDear friends, the world troubled by war and so many evils needs signs, works that inspire wonder and that reveal the wondrousness of God who never ceases…

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