Content about Church World

MANILA, August 18, 2013—Pope Francis expressed deep sadness for the tragic loss of lives caused by the sinking of a ferry boat off the coast of Talisay in Cebu, Friday night. 

In a telegram of condolence sent to Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the Holy Father gave his assurance of prayers and close solidarity with those affected by the tragedy, commending them “to the loving mercy of Almighty God.” 

MANILA, March 10, 2012—Pope Benedict XVI has conveyed his condolence for the passing of Cardinal Jose T. Sanchez in a telegram sent to Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal, archbishop emeritus of Cebu.

Cardinal Sanchez was prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy. He was head of the Vatican dicastery from 1991 until his retirement in 1996. He died March 9 in Manila at the age of 91.

Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the
Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2012

1. THE beginning of a new year, God’s gift to humanity, prompts me to extend to all, with great confidence and affection, my heartfelt good wishes that this time now before us may be marked concretely by justice and peace.

BERLIN, Germany, Nov 22, 2011--The Catholic Church in Germany says it will act “without delay” to sell its stake in a publishing company that offers pornography among its products.

“We cannot earn money during the week with what we preach against on Sundays,” Cardinal Joachim Meisner told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper Nov. 22.

The director of the Union of Indonesian Family Planning in Kupang, in East Nusa Tenggara province, has warned young parishioners of the dangers that can occur as a result of engaging in casual sex.

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 22, 2011.- Calling on the example of a saint renowned for his chastity, Benedict XVI today invited young people to esteem evangelical purity.

The Pope mentioned Tuesday's feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591) in his customary conclusion of the general audience, when he greets youth, the sick and newlyweds.

"May the example and the intercession of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, whose memorial we celebrated yesterday, spur you on, dear young people, to esteem the virtue of evangelical purity," the Holy Father said.

MADRID, Spain, JUNE 3, 2011.- The World Youth Day set this August in Madrid will be the beginning of a deep "moral renewal of society," suggests the archbishop of the host city, Cardinal Antonio Rouco.

The cardinal told to PALABRA magazine in an interview published this week that organizers expect "between half a million and a million" to participate in the Aug. 16-21 youth day, although "in the central events ... that number will be considerably surpassed."

Priests should study the reproductive health (RH) bill still pending in congress before delivering homilies lambasting the proposed law, a seminary formator has said.

“We priests have to seriously read and study the bill, pray over the issue, before discussing it,” said Father Ramon Echica, a seminary formator in the Archdiocese of Cebu.

He said the clergy should speak about the controversial bill but they should be intellectually prepared.

Abortion has become such a pervasive form of birth control in Russia that the nation is seeing worker and population shortages that are already beginning to take an economic toll. The nation’s parliament is now considering legislation to address the problem.

Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament are working on legislation that they hope will cut the more than one million officially counted abortions taking place annually in the nation.

Ezra Capucion recently graduated with a management degree from the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University “confident” and determined to strive to change society and test the values she learnt at school in enterprise development.