Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in US state of Illinois raising funds to repair arson damage

United States RNS The Roman Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois, regarded as the most visited monument of its kind in the United States, is asking for donations after its outdoor chapel was set on fire early on Tuesday. Several statues, art pieces and the outdoor Chapel of the Resurrected Christ, also […]
Five hundred years after it was destroyed, St Chad’s shrine reinstated at Lichfield Cathedral in UK

Norwich, UK Five hundred years ago, King Henry VIII’s commissioners destroyed the shrine of St Chad at the Church of England’s Lichfield Cathedral – now it has been reinstated, complete with a relic provided by St Chad Roman Catholic Cathedral in Birmingham. Rt Rev Dr Michael Ipgrave, the 99th Bishop of Lichfield, said that “[t]his is an […]
Guatemala: Led by ‘Father Revolutionary’, Indigenous communities turn to Orthodox Christianity

DAVID I KLEIN, in a report published by Religion News Service, reports on the growth of the Orthodox church among Indigenous communities in the traditionally Roman Catholic-dominated Central American nation of Guatemala…
Nigerian herders kill 33, burn four churches days after kidnapping school children

Nairobi, Kenya RNS Barely a week after the kidnapping of nearly 140 students at a Baptist boarding school in Nigeria’s north-western state of Kaduna, a fresh terrorist attack in the region has left at least 33 people dead and four churches and hundreds of homes burnt down, according to Luka Binniyat, a spokesman for the […]
Keep COVID-19 restrictions during in-person worship, US ecumenical guide suggests

RNS Some Americans may be behaving like the COVID-19 pandemic no longer hinders them from socializing with friends and family, many of whom they may not have seen in months. But the Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments, a group of clergy, scientists and other experts, advised congregations to take it slower […]
Former art studio of LA’s ‘pop art nun’ designated as historic monument

Los Angeles, US RNS The former Hollywood art studio of Corita Kent – a Roman Catholic religious sister who was known for her pop art covering racism, poverty and misogyny – has been officially designated a historic cultural monument. Known as LA’s “pop art nun,” Kent’s studio, which is now a dry cleaner, had been […]
German Archbishop offers to resign over Catholic Church’s sexual abuse “catastrophe”

Berlin, Germany/Rome, Italy Reuters One of Roman Catholicism’s most influential liberal figures, Germany’s Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has offered to resign as Archbishop of Munich, saying he had to share responsibility for the “catastrophe” of sexual abuse by clerics over past decades. His offer, which Pope Francis has yet to accept, follows an uproar among the […]
Uganda mourns Catholic archbishop

Kampala, Uganda Uganda is mourning Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, who has died at the age of 68. Lwanga’s personal doctor pronounced him dead a few minutes after 9am local time on Saturday after his body was discovered in his room. However, it was not until a few minutes after 1pm that […]
Newlywed militant suspects blamed in Indonesia church attack

Updated: 10pm (AEDT) Makassar, Indonesia AP Indonesian authorities on Monday identified a newly married couple with suspected militant links as the attackers who used a pressure cooker to blow themselves up outside a Roman Catholic cathedral during Palm Sunday Mass. The attack wounded 20 people, including four church guards, and broke windows at the church […]
Belgium religious faiths want more worshippers at services

AP Representatives of the religious faiths recognised in Belgium have joined forces to urge federal authorities to increase the number of people admitted inside places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic. Under the current COVID-19 rules, such places can accommodate up to 15 people. In a letter to Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the religious […]