Vatican to require vaccination proof or negative Covid-19 test
By Cindy Wooden – Visitors, tourists and employees who want to enter Vatican territory will be required beginning Oct. 1 to show proof of vaccination, recovery from...
Category: Church
News, features from the local Church and the Church worldwide
Passing on a Heritage of Love
As we celebrate Heritage Day on 24 September, Imelda Diouff looks at celebrating diversity and passing on what matter to the next generation. The “Rainbow Nation” appears...
Are Anglican Confirmations Valid?
A Catholic boy I know was confirmed in an Anglican church. Was this a valid confirmation? Didn’t Pope Leo XIII state in his encyclical Apostolicae curae (1896)...
Pope: Church needs to hear God speaking through those who are hurting
By Carol Glatz – To listen to the Holy Spirit, members of the church must listen to each other and especially to those who are marginalised, Pope...
Communion for the Divorced?
There seems to be a lot of confusion and opinion about whether a divorced person may receive Communion or not. In 1970 my wife left me for...
Pope urges church leaders to recognise errors in dealing with clergy abuse
By Jonathan Luxmoore – Pope Francis urged bishops from throughout Eastern Europe to recognise mistakes in their handling of sexual abuse in order to open “new horizons...
Zimbabwean Catholic Music Goes Global
Benjamin Takavarasha tells the Southern Cross how a pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in the UK led to Zimbabwean Catholic music being heard across the globe. By...
Choosing South Africa’s New Chief Justice
The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the public would be able to participate in the process of selecting South Africa’s new...
The Vatican Nativity Scene 2021 Coming From Peru
Last year, the Vatican nativity set came, for some, from outer space; in 2021 it is coming from the Andes. The 2021 manger that will be placed in...
When are Ordinations Invalid?
When is a person’s ordination by a bishop to the priesthood invalid? Does the intention of the one who asks for ordination play a role in this?...
How Long is too long for Prayers of the Faithful?
In our parish, the Sunday prayers of the faithful seem to go on forever. Sometimes there are as many as 15 petitions, all of them long-winded. I...
Pope: Leadership Can be Distorted by Thirst for Power
By Carol Glatz – Pope Francis praised Catholic lay movements and associations for living out the Gospel in their everyday lives and for promoting education, social support...
