CNA—Israel is “at war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday after a series of surprise rocket attacks and incursions from Hamas killed dozens and saw the country being invaded on a major holiday. The attacks, which were carried out on the observance of Simchat Torah, arose early on Saturday morning and had reportedly killed…
NotreDameNews—In recognition for its support of Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), the University of Notre Dame has been awarded the 2023 Institute of International Education (IIE) Heiskell Award for Strategic Partnerships. Heiskell Award The Heiskell Award is presented annually to a college or university, recognizing innovative partnerships that foster international education and demonstrate strong, sustainable links…
Catholic youth in Ukraine. In this brief and moving video, Magda Dymyd, a young Ukrainian woman and sister of fallen hero Artem Dymyd, articulates with passion and utter clarity how the pain and trauma that Ukrainian youth are living through calls them to embrace the fullness of life with all the energy and strength that…
Saint Andrew Kim. CNA—Pope Francis on Saturday invited Catholics in Korea to emulate the zeal of their patron saint, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, as his statue was blessed at St. Peter’s Basilica. “[St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn’s] figure invites us to discover the vocation entrusted to the Korean Church, to all of you: You are called…
Vatican News—A political analyst engaged in helping Mongolia implement democracy and human rights shines a light on the current socio-political challenges in the country, and upholds its commitment to protect freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities. Pope Francis’ historic Apostolic Visit to Mongolia would have been unimaginable during Mongolia’s communist period “where…
Pope Francis is visiting Mongolia from Aug. 31–Sept. 4. Mongolia is one of the world’s largest landlocked nations, sandwiched between its much larger and more powerful neighbors, China and Russia. It has one of the smallest Christian communities in the world with 1,450 Catholics. Here are a few highlights: A special Virgin Mary statue Pope…
Population Research Institute—Last year, while the U.S. celebrated the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Malta had its own abortion battle. The abortion debate started in mid-2022, when a pregnant American tourist’s membranes ruptured at 16 weeks. The baby survived, but the mother still chose to be airlifted to Spain to terminate her pregnancy, an action…
Population Research Institute— The communist Chinese party (CCP) has been on a mission to suffocate religion in China for decades. Now, new measures are set to go in place today that further this terrible mission. All religious venues will have to uphold the Chinese Communist Party. All Christian sermons will have to reflect China’s political…
CNA—The delegate for the Colombian Bishops’ Conference (CEC) for Church-state relations, Monsignor Héctor Fabio Henao Gaviria, explained the role of the Church as part of the monitoring and verification mechanism of the cease-fire between the government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group. The peace plan, so far The 180-day cease-fire will go into…
CNA—A Catholic freelance journalist who has reported on a surge of violent attacks by radicalized Muslims in Nigeria for CNA recently found himself caught in the middle of a firefight between government soldiers and armed militiamen. “With hundreds of bullets flying over my head, and the whizzing gunfire whipping past my ears, lying flat on…
Don’t Miss this film on Catholic businessman Jimmy Lai—WSJ—Currently imprisoned by the Chinese government for pressing the case for freedom and democracy, the defiant entrepreneur and media mogul is the focus of a stirring, free-to-stream documentary. “It would be so boring just being a businessman,” notes the Hong Kong entrepreneur and media mogul Jimmy Lai,…
WSJ—A Hong Kong court ruled Friday that imprisoned newspaperman Jimmy Lai, a devout Catholic, can’t hire the British lawyer he wants for his upcoming national security trial. That came the morning after Mr. Lai’s son Sebastian accepted the Cato Institute’s prestigious Milton Friedman Prize on behalf of his father in Washington. The two events tell…
CNA—King Charles III will be crowned on Saturday in Westminster Abbey in the first royal coronation since that of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, 70 years ago. The coronation will be a Christian service, centered on the celebration of holy communion in an Anglican (Church of England) liturgy. Originally centered on the Catholic Eucharist But…
CNA—The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, has confiscated a cloistered monastery and arrested 20 people for activities related to Holy Week in Nicaragua. The Trappist sisters of Nicaragua (see feature photo), who left the country in February after 22 years of service, reported April 11 that the government…
On March 9, 2023, the president of Hungary, Katalin Novák, will deliver a lecture, titled “The Calling of the Christian in Politics: What We Can Achieve,” followed by a Q-and-A with students at Ave Maria University in Florida. (video below) Novák’s lecture focuses on the importance of faith and family. As a devoted Christian, Novák…
CNA—Cardinal George Pell, prefect emeritus of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, died on Tuesday at the age of 81. The Australian prelate suffered a cardiac arrest and died at 8:50 p.m. Rome time, his secretary confirmed. A towering figure of the Church both physically and intellectually, Pell served for many years as archbishop of…
Pro-Democracy, former media tycoon and courageous Catholic Jimmy Lai sentenced to 69 Months in Communist Prison—December 2022 CNA / WSJ—The godfather of an arrested Hong Kong Catholic entrepreneur and pro-democracy advocate says he hopes Jimmy Lai’s courageous example will inspire more calls for justice amid an ongoing crackdown on human rights in now-Communist Hong Kong.…
As we celebrate the Christmas Octave with family and loved ones, in warm homes and beautiful churches, with glorious singing, prayers and with abundant food, gifts and laughter…. our suffering Catholic brethren endure the same Christmas Octave in a cold, sparse, merciless prison in Communist China. They suffer dearly the loss of being able to…
A quick glimpse at what’s happening in China now. As we cull this news, I wonder how many Chinese know of St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit sent as a missionary to the Far East by St. Ignatius himself (the founder of the Jesuit order). “Go set all on fire” Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), whose Feast…
Ukraine—CNA—After the liberation of the Mykolaiv district in Ukraine from the Russian army last week, residents began to return to their homes with the hope of saving at least some of their possessions. Together with the parish priest, Society of Christ Father Oleksandr Repin, and other nuns, Benedictine Sister Faustina Kovalska went to the site…
