World

Canada’s Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Catholic schools in Quebec must be allowed to teach from a Catholic viewpoint during a state-mandated religion and ethics class.

“To tell a Catholic school how to explain its faith undermines the liberty of the members of its community who have chosen to give effect to the collective dimension of their religious beliefs by participating in a denominational school,” the Canadian Supreme Court wrote in its 7-0 March 19 decision. Read more »

The episode of the cleansing of the Temple is placed towards the end of Jesus’s public life in the Synoptic Gospels, and towards the beginning, in the Gospel of John.

The question of when it actually took place need not detain us here: what is important is to understand the meaning of what took place.

The story unfolds at two levels: the first is the corruption and commerce which greeted the devotee when he entered the Temple precincts. Read more »

Today’s Gospel introduces us to the vocation of the first disciples, Andrew, Peter and John, the Gospel writer.

These men came from Galilee but followed John the Baptist, and it is the Baptist who pointed out Jesus to them as the ‘Lamb of God’.

Let’s say a word about this title of Christ: ‘Lamb of God’. Read more »

Thousands of Catholic pilgrims descended on the Indian coastal state of Goa on Saturday to witness the once-a-decade exposition of the relics of a 16th century Spanish missionary.

Devotees from around the world formed a queue of more than one kilometre long to venerate the relics of St Francis Xavier, which are on display until January 4 in the former Portuguese colony. Read more »

The founder of the Carthusian order, St Bruno of Cologne, exemplified in his life the humility that characterises his followers to this day.

Born around 1030 to a well-to-do family in Cologne, Bruno undertook his theological education at Reims in northern France.

He was probably ordained in his homeland around 1055. Read more »

The story of Therese Martin, the young French girl who longed to join the Carmelites and dedicate her life to Christ, is one of the fairy tales of our age.

No doubt at all that Therese is the most popular Catholic saint of the last hundred years and no wonder Mother Teresa took her own name from this saint. Read more »

Francesco di Bernadonne was born in 1182 in Assisi, to a wealthy merchant family. His youth was filled with romantic ideals, and he tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to become a knight.

At the age of 23, he heard the crucifix in the church of San Damiano in Assisi challenge him: “Francis, go repair my house! It is falling into ruin.”

Taking these words to heart, he divested himself of his wealth, his fine clothes and his property, and left home a beggar. His mission: the ‘repair’ of the entire Christian Church. Read more »

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres asked Pope Francis to head a parallel United Nations called the "United Religions" to counter religious extremism in the world today.

"In the past, most wars were motivated by the idea of nationhood. Today, however, wars are incited above all using religion as an excuse," Peres told the Catholic magazine, Famiglia Cristiana, ahead of the papal meeting Sept. 4.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, confirmed that Peres, who ended his presidential term in July, had requested the meeting and told the pope about his idea. Read more »

Human Rights Watch (HRW) today urged the Singapore government to “immediately and unconditionally” abolish caning as a punishment for crimes.

The call came just hours before the Singapore Court of Appeal was to hear the case of Malaysian national Yong Vui Kong. Yong was found guilty of drug trafficking in 2008.

His death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment and caning. His lawyer is in court today to challenge the caning part of the sentence. Read more »

In April 2013, the parents of slain U.S. journalist James Foley attended a prayer vigil at Marquette University in Milwaukee to pray for their son who, at that time, had disappeared in Syria.

Before Diane and John Foley had confirmation that spring that their son was missing, Diane said she just felt it -- he had missed one of his usual phone calls home -- and once they knew for sure, the couple said they were relying on their Catholic faith to cope and leaning on prayer to bring him home. Read more »