WelCom November 2020 In his new encyclical, written during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis challenges humankind to reset priorities and unite communities riven by racism, inequality and climate change. Fratelli Tutti, signed in Assisi on October 3, 2020 urges people of good will to promote fraternity through dialogue, renewing society by […]
WelCom November 2020 Lisa Beech Families, households, parishes, individuals, schools and communities of the Archdiocese of Wellington are encouraged to find appropriate ways to share food with others this year for the World Day of the Poor, on Sunday 15 November 2020. In the context of our more fragmented and disconnected communities, following the Covid-19 […]
WelCom November 2020 Pope Francis announced at the end of his Angelus address on October 25, he will create 13 new cardinals on November 28. Nine cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to vote in a conclave. The new cardinals are: Maltese Bishop Mario Grech, 63, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops. […]
WelCom November 2020 Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian, who used his computer programming skills to spread devotion to the Eucharist, was beatified last month. In a service on Saturday October 10, in the Italian town of Assisi, Carlo Acutis became the youngest contemporary person to be beatified. Acutis, dubbed ‘the cyber apostle of the Eucharist’, […]
WelCom November 2020 Pope Francis expresses support for the creation of civil union laws for same-sex couples in a new documentary about his seven-year papacy. In the film, Francesco, he says: ‘Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should […]
WelCom November 2020 Commenting on the Pope’s remarks about same-sex civil unions, reported in the film Francesco, Bishop Patrick Dunn, Bishop of Auckland and President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said in a statement on October 24, 2020, ‘I endorse the reported comments of Pope Francis. I know he is anxious for LGBTQ […]
WelCom November 2020 New data released by the Vatican shows the number of Catholics is on the rise worldwide. The global Catholic population grew 16 million to 1.33 billion in the past year, according to figures released by the Vatican. The percentage of Catholics in the world remained at 17.73 per cent, indicating the increasing […]
WelCom November 2020 The first Russian-born Catholic bishop since the start of the Soviet era says he prefers to speak of challenges facing the minority Catholic Church rather than problems. ‘Being a relatively small community, the Catholic Church in Russia is challenged with making a positive, constructive contribution as an integral part of society,’ says […]
WelCom November 2020 Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has written to Pope Francis to ask for an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the oppression of indigenous people in the Spanish conquest 500 years ago. The request was made in a two-page letter that also asked the Vatican to temporarily return several ancient […]
WelCom November 2020 Catholic leaders in India are protesting the arrest of 83-year-old Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy on charges of collaboration with Marxist militants. Swamy is a noted human-rights activist who has long spoken out against the mistreatment of India’s Tribal community in Jharkhand state. Swamy has been accused by the government of having ties […]