2021

All Saints Church in Warsaw is an imposing edifice. Its soaring twin bell towers were inspired by a Renaissance abbey in Italy. In 2017, it became the first building in Poland to be designated a “House of Life.” 

The title was awarded by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, named after the Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary.

Pope Francis said today that commemorating the Holocaust means to be aware that “these things can happen again.” 

A heart monitor in an intensive care unit. Credit: sfam_photo via Shutterstock. A Polish Catholic patient at the centre of a UK court battle died …

An Italian cardinal expressed concern this week about the use of social media by children, encouraging the Church to do its part to give young people hope for the future amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On the day government figures recorded 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said:

“A day of great sadness all over the land. So many people, families, communities, remembering those who have died in these terrible months of the pandemic. Each one is mourned. Each one is to be prayed for.

Increasing rumors from multiple Vatican sources say the Vatican communications department might experience a shakeup shortly, and that Pope Francis might try a new redesign of the dicastery that handles Vatican media.

Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz said at a farewell Mass on Sunday that the Church would remain a source of strength for Catholics in Belarus despite a change in leadership. 

Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Fr Damian Howard SJ, Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, have joined calls for the government of India to release Fr Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest who has been unjustly imprisoned because of his work to support marginalised communities.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity concluded yesterday with Vespers at the tomb of St. Paul.

Pope Francis was unable to attend the evening prayer 25 January at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls due to a resurgence of sciatic nerve pain, but the pope’s prepared homily for the occasion was read by Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Papal almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski offered a funeral Mass Monday for a 64-year-old homeless man who died in Rome.

The Vatican Secretary of State has called for a new model of development built on “the synergistic bond” between the fight against climate change and the struggle against poverty.

The Polish Catholic Church’s annual “Day of Islam” on Tuesday is an opportunity to overcome prejudices, a bishop who oversees Catholic-Muslim dialogue in the country has said.

Pope Francis sent a video message yesterday to Latin American Church leaders organizing a “synodal” regional assembly, in which he asked them not to be ideological elites, but to remain close to the people of God.

A group of Christian leaders who advocate for the Holy Land this week reiterated a call for Israeli and Palestinian authorities to negotiate directly for the sake of peace in the region. They also encouraged Israel to make COVID-19 vaccines accessible to Palestinians.

Pope Francis prayed this afternoon for a homeless man who died near St. Peter’s Square amid freezing temperatures.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 24, 2021. Credit: Vatican Media A …

Earlier this month the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples sent a letter to the bishops of some 1,100 Catholic territories and announced the gradual reduction of the financial support they regularly receive from the Vatican.

Pope Francis has been forced to cancel three public appearances scheduled for today and tomorrow due to a recurrence of the nerve pain that struck him at the end of 2020. 

Pope Francis issued a new warning about misinformation today, weeks after he was the subject of a viral “fake news” story. 

The Catholic bishops of Hiroshima and Nagasaki welcomed the United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons that came into force yesterday while expressing disappointment that Japan was not a signatory.