Articles by Courtney Mares
Cardinal Parolin to EU bishops: Protect life from conception to natural death
Nov 3, 2020 / 07:00 amVatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has encouraged bishops in Europe to evaluate legislative proposals in light of the transcendent dignity of every human person.
Pope Francis on All Souls’ Day: Christian hope gives life meaning
Nov 2, 2020 / 10:00 amPope Francis visited a cemetery in Vatican City to pray on All Souls Day Monday and offered Mass for the faithful departed.
French police make six arrests over Nice terror attack
Nov 2, 2020 / 09:00 amFrench police have arrested a total of six men in their investigation into the attack on the Basilica of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Nice.
Irish bishops petition government to lift ban on religious gatherings
Oct 30, 2020 / 11:01 amIrish bishops met with the prime minister this week to petition the government to lift the current coronavirus restrictions on public worship as soon as possible.
Italian cardinal tests positive for COVID-19
Oct 29, 2020 / 13:00 pmCardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, the president of the Italian bishops’ conference, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Nice basilica terrorist attack: Who were the victims?
Oct 29, 2020 / 11:02 amBells tolled in Catholic parishes across France in memory of the three people killed in a knife attack at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Nice Thursday morning.
Pope Francis recognizes martyrdom of Lebanese priests killed under Ottoman Empire
Oct 28, 2020 / 13:00 pmPope Francis Wednesday advanced the sainthood causes of nine men and women, including two Lebanese priests martyred under the Ottoman Empire.
Pope Francis appeals for peace in Cameroon after deadly school attack
Oct 28, 2020 / 07:00 amPope Francis appealed for an end to violence in Cameroon Wednesday after seven students were killed in an attack on a school in the city of Kumba.
Pope Francis supports Polish Catholics in fight against abortion
Oct 28, 2020 / 04:07 amPope Francis told Polish Catholics Wednesday that he asks St. John Paul II’s intercession for respect for life, amid protests in Poland over a law prohibiting abortion.
Vatican diplomat: Catholics can help UN to live up to its principles
Oct 27, 2020 / 07:00 amThe Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations has said that faith-based organizations need to help the international community to see its “lack of consistency” in implementing its most basic principles, such as respect for the dignity of every human being.
Vatican to discuss parish instructions with German bishops, not Synodal Way committee
Oct 26, 2020 / 07:00 amThe Vatican has told the German Bishops’ Conference that a forthcoming meeting in Rome to discuss Germans’ concerns about the new instruction on parishes will not include laymen representing Germany’s “Synodal Way”.
Munich archdiocese: Church tax income rises as record numbers depart
Oct 23, 2020 / 11:00 amThe German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising announced Friday that it received 665 million euros in income from the church tax last year, despite a record number of Catholics in the diocese formally leaving the Church.
Taiwan foreign ministry: Catholics in China are facing serious challenges
Oct 23, 2020 / 06:00 amTaiwan’s foreign ministry responded by the renewal of the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement Thursday by highlighting the worsening religious freedom situation on the mainland.
Where China's bishops stand as the Sino-Vatican deal is renewed
Oct 22, 2020 / 11:00 amChinese bishops after the Vatican-China deal: Who was appointed? Whose excommunications were lifted? Who stepped aside?
Vatican and China renew provisional agreement on appointment of bishops
Oct 22, 2020 / 03:00 amThe Vatican and China have renewed a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops for two more years, the Holy See announced Thursday.
Vatican to UN: It is immoral to threaten use of nuclear weapons as deterrence
Oct 21, 2020 / 05:10 amA Vatican official challenged the security theory of nuclear deterrence as immoral at the United Nations this week and called for “genuine progress” toward complete nuclear disarmament.
Pope Francis: ‘The world has a profound thirst for peace’
Oct 20, 2020 / 13:00 pmPope Francis affirmed the signal importance of peace at an interreligious gathering Tuesday on Rome’s Capitoline Hill.
Shrine of patroness of impossible causes launches Lebanon prayer campaign
Oct 20, 2020 / 08:30 amThe Basilica of St. Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes, is beginning a seven-month prayer initiative for Lebanon as the country faces an unprecedented economic and political crisis.
Blessed Carlo Acutis’ tomb closes after extended time of public veneration
Oct 19, 2020 / 09:00 amThe glass that has allowed pilgrims to view Blessed Carlo Acutis will be permanently covered Monday as the official multi-week celebration of the Italian teen’s beatification in Assisi comes to an end.
Vatican asks UN to eliminate the risks of satellite collisions in outer space
Oct 19, 2020 / 05:00 amWith more and more satellites orbiting the Earth, measures need to be taken to prevent collisions in outer space that give rise to dangerous “space debris,” a Holy See representative has warned the United Nations.