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by Andi Hajramurni Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — An Indonesian cathedral was rocked by a suicide bombing on Sunday with body parts littering the chaotic scene as Christians inside celebrated the start of the Catholic Church’s Holy Week. The powerful blast at the church in Makassar city on Sulawesi island happened around 10:30 am local time (0330 GMT) and left at least 14 church officials and congregants injured by debris, police said. […]
by Isabelle LE PAGE and Deborah COLE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — An independent study commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church released Thursday has uncovered hundreds of cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by clergy and laymen in Germany’s top diocese. The long-awaited 800-page report on the Cologne diocese found 202 alleged perpetrators of sexual assault and 314 victims between 1975 and 2018, Bjoern Gercke, a lawyer mandated by the Church, told […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Pope Francis’s former envoy to France, Luigi Ventura, goes on trial in Paris on Tuesday for sexual assault following complaints by five men who accused him of groping them during public ceremonies. The allegations against the 75-year-old Italian-born archbishop caused deep embarrassment for the Vatican, coming in the midst of a slew of revelations about clerical sex abuse that have rocked the Catholic Church. Ventura was stripped of his diplomatic […]
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Vatican on Thursday took the unprecedented step of closing all Catholic churches across Rome to stem the spread of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 people across Italy. The papal vicar for Rome said the churches would reopen when a broader Italian government crackdown on public gatherings expires on April 3. “The faithful are consequently exempt from their obligation to fulfill the festive precept,” a statement […]
by Catherine MARCIANO Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — An idea to fill empty pulpits in remote locations by allowing married men to become priests is bitterly dividing a Vatican assembly, with critics warning the emotive issue could fracture the Catholic Church. The hot-button topic of whether an exception can be made to the centuries-old custom of celibacy in places where there is a shortage of priests has dominated the start of the three-week […]
(Eagle News) — The historic Itbayat Catholic church in Batanes, or the Santa Maria de Mayan parish church, bore the brunt of the successive strong quakes early Saturday, July 27. The tremors with a magnitude of 5.4 and 5.9 struck the region within hours of each other. The Itbayat church’s belfry was severely damaged and fell down after the tremors. The construction of the church building was started in 1872 and completed in 1888. The […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — An independent commission set up by the French Catholic Church to look at allegations of sexual abuse by clerics begins its work on Monday by launching an appeal for witness statements. France’s Catholic bishops set up the commission last year in response to a number of scandals that shook the Church in the country and also worldwide. It now has the task to shed light on sexual abuse committed by […]
by Ella IDE Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Catholic Church’s Pope Francis on Thursday passed a landmark new measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors, in a move which could bring countless new cases to light. Every diocese in the world will now be obliged to have a system for the reporting of abuse, under a new law published by […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) – All of Sri Lanka’s Catholic churches have been ordered to stay closed and suspend services until security improves after deadly Easter bombings, a senior priest told AFP Thursday. “On the advice of the security forces we are keeping all churches closed,” the priest said. “There will be no public mass said until further notice.” Security has already been stepped up at churches across the country, government officials said. A […]
(Eagle News) — The bell tower of the 18th century Catholic church in Porac, Pampanga, St. Catherine of Alexandria, suffered major damages after the 6.1 magnitude quake that hit the Philippine island of Luzon on Monday, April 22. Its bell tower was destroyed as can be seen in the photos. Some of the church’s statues were also toppled down by the strong quake. The church is just one of the many heritage Catholic churches […]
by Ishara Kodikara in Colombo and Lakruwan Wanniarachchi in Batticaloa Agence France Presse COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — A series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing nearly 160 people, including dozens of foreigners. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the attacks — the worst act of violence since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war a decade ago — as “cowardly”, […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Thirteen people were killed and 16 injured when part of a church collapsed on worshippers following a violent storm near the eastern South African city of Durban, officials said Friday. The accident happened late Thursday when a brick wall under a makeshift roof collapsed during a service at a Pentecostal church, a converted hangar, in the town of Ndlangubo, north of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal province. “Such a tragedy. 13 […]
