WelCom February 2022 On his December visit to Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Pope Francis sounded the alarm that democracy is under threat across the globe, as authoritarian leaders fuelled by populist and nationalistic interests are on the rise. ‘Today, and not only in Europe, we are witnessing a retreat from democracy,’ the Pope said, […]
WelCom February 2022 Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s death in South Africa has drawn tributes from all walks of life, among them, the Pope, bishops and clergy. Tutu who helped to end apartheid in South Africa and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner died in a frail-care centre on Boxing Day, 2021, at the age of […]
WelCom February 2022 Pope Francis began his regular weekly address at the Vatican recently by talking about the role of St Joseph as an adoptive father. It was a celebration of adoption as ‘among the highest forms of love’. The general audience was part of a series of catechesis on St Joseph. And then, in […]
WelCom February 2022 Afghanistan is the most dangerous place to be a Christian after the Taliban takeover has emboldened Islamist extremists worldwide, according to a new report. Afghanistan has replaced North Korea at the top of the World Watch List. North Korea was the worst for Christian persecution on the annual list for 20 years, […]
WelCom February 2022 The BBC has named a Catholic nun from Myanmar among Nobel laureates, politicians and professors as one of the 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2021. Sr Ann Rose Nu Tawng became a symbol of Myanmar’s nationwide protests against a military takeover when, in March, she knelt in front […]
WelCom February 2022 Pope Francis conferred the ministries of catechist, lector, and acolyte upon lay men and women for the first time in St Peter’s Basilica in January. Candidates from three continents received the new ministries. Two people from the Amazonian region in Peru were formally made catechists by the Pope, along with other candidates […]
WelCom February 2022 Pope Francis has invited everyone to participate in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year focuses on a theme relating to the experience of the Magi, who came from the East to Bethlehem to worship the Messiah King: ‘We saw the star in the East, and we came to […]
WelCom February 2022 The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has announced plans to issue an historic apology to the Sámi people, who are indigenous to the Finnish nation and several other Nordic countries. The Sámi, currently numbering around 100,000 members, are the only recognised indigenous people of Europe. ‘We are coming to the moment when […]
WelCom February 2022 A new report has found former Pope Benedict XVI failed to act over four child abuse cases when he was archbishop of Munich. The report was carried out by a German law firm, Westpfahl Spilker Wastl, and was commissioned by the Catholic Church. The report alleges abuse continued under his tenure and […]
WelCom December 2021 Pope Francis has appealed for authorities to ‘respect the humanity’ of migrants and strive to help them, after 27 migrants drowned trying to cross the English Channel in November. Record numbers of migrants have attempted to cross the Channel in flimsy boats from France to Britain this year. Francis told several thousand […]