Meatless Fridays returning to England, Wales

THE practice of abstaining from eating meat on Fridays is to return in England and Wales later this year.


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Pope Benedict promotes Tridentine Mass

A NEW Vatican instruction calls on local bishops and pastors to respond generously to Catholics who seek celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine rite.


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Hong Kong Church group promotes breastfeeding

CONCERNS over infant milk formulas and misleading commercials have prompted the formation of a Church group to promote breastfeeding.


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Egyptian Copts want protection from sectarian violence

MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN sectarian violence intensified in Egypt this weekend, spurring an emergency meeting of the Cabinet and public exhortations from Coptic Christians for international protection.


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A long-simmering tension over ‘creeping infallibility’

WHEN Pope Benedict XVI used the word “infallible” in reference to the ban on women’s ordination in a recent letter informing an Australian bishop he’d been sacked, it marked the latest chapter of a long-simmering debate in Catholicism: Exactly where should the boundaries of infallible teaching be drawn?

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Manila Cathedral opens catechetical exhibits

THE Manila Cathedral’s Chapel of the Holy Souls will soon be transformed into an evangelizing Chapel Shrine with the opening of catechetical exhibits aimed at teaching the faithful about purgatory and intensifying the devotion to the Holy souls.


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Moro rebels challenge Church to take stand

THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has challenged the Church and other civil society groups to take a stand, especially on “controversial issues” surrounding the peace process.


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Philippines celebrates month for Blessed Mother, moms

IN keeping with an old tradition, the Philippines celebrates the month of May as the month of mothers and the Blessed Mother.

Sunday, Mother’s Day, special prayer services in honor of mothers were held in Catholic churches across the country. Offerings will be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, revered as the mother of Jesus, the mother of the Church, and the mother of all mankind.

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Christians ponder post-Osama landscape

SEVERAL schools and Church offices in Pakistan were closed Friday, fearing a backlash against Christians in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden this week in the northern garrison town of Abbottabad.


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San Malverde: patron saint of thieves and drug lords

MEXICO’S drug lords are so powerful they even have their own patron saint: San Malverde. Every year on May 3, residents of the north-western state of Sinaloa, the birthplace of Mexico’s largest drug cartel, flock to celebrate their beloved “good bandit.”


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Pope congratulates 34 new Swiss Guard recruits

POPE Benedict XVI met with 34 new Swiss Guard recruits on May 6 and offered words of wisdom and encouragement before the swearing-in ceremony.


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Vatican to address ‘Catholic identity’ at Caritas assembly

THE general assembly of Caritas Internationalis in late May is shaping up as a defining moment for the confederation of 165 national Catholic charities, at a time when the Vatican is insisting on greater control over Caritas operations.


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Protestant Church group hits ‘immoral’ motel

MEMBERS of a protestant Church in Manila held a protest march on Wednesday to call for a stop to the construction of a motel in front of a religious shrine and a few meters from several schools in the suburbs of Quezon City.

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Priest-psychologist sees ‘signs of grace’ in abuse scandal

A PRIEST-PSYCHOLOGIST said he sees “signs of grace” amid the darkness of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

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Award-winning film reminds of religious persecution

A SPECIAL screening of an award-winning film in Taipei has reminded many of those who saw it of the religious persecutions in mainland China more than half a century ago.

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