In a rare ecumenical moment, Father Emil Blaser OP, executive director at Catholic radio station Radio Veritas, said he was honoured to preach the homily at a funeral in Johannesburg’s Forest Town Methodist church.
The Vatican obviously is concerned about terrorist threats, “especially for the senseless hatred” it represents, and will continue to remain vigilant, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
Young Catholics must “enter into the school of Mary”, especially as the Church prepares for next year’s Synod of Bishops on the Youth and Vocation
I’ve been thinking about how we in South Africa — like many other places —are struggling with what our churches mean and should look like. I’ve been thrown into this struggle in the last few years when I’ve become responsible for renovation and restoration projects that preserve and enhance our Catholic legacy.
Pope Francis did not change church teaching on the rules for receiving Communion, but rather assured people who are in difficult situations that the church cares for them and the mercy of God extends to them, a Nigerian cardinal said.
Although prisoners must pay a price for their crimes, incarceration must not be used as a method of torture but rather an opportunity to become contributing members of society, Pope Francis said.
The US renews its commitment to the protection of religious minority groups threatened by the Islamic State in the Middle East, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the preface of the annual State Department report on international religious freedom.
Walter Middleton, Johannesburg – The discussions in The Southern Cross on parish finances have been timely and appropriate, especially since the economic situation in our country is bleak.
We reported earlier that a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Arlington had come clean about his past in the Ku Klux Klan. William Aitcheson, while a member of the Klan, burnt a cross on the lawn of a couple in Maryland. He was charged with the crime and ordered to pay restitution, but never did.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state, visited Moscow and met with the patriarch and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as with leaders of Russia’s Catholic community.
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