POPE FRANCIS SAYS RETIREMENT ‘A POSSIBILITY,’ BUT NOT CONSIDERING IT NOW

Mon 15 January 2024: Pope Francis said Sunday that retirement remains an option open to all popes, but he is not contemplating it at present. “I am still alive,” Francis responded when asked how he was by TV host Fabio Fazio, who interviewed the pontiff for about an hour during his show on the commercial […]

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SWISS NEWSPAPER UNCOVERS ABUSE IN BREAKAWAY CATHOLIC GROUP SOCIETY OF SAINT PIUS X

Sun 14 January 2024: Sexual, psychological and physical violence has taken place in several countries within the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X, Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported Saturday after a months-long investigation into the breakaway Catholic group. The society “cannot escape accusations of control, sexual violence and a cult of secrecy”, the newspaper wrote, […]

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LIKE IT OR NOT, RAM DID EAT MEAT IN THE ‘RAMAYAN’

Fri 12 January 2024: The needless controversy surrounding the Tamil film Annapoorani, which was removed by Netflix, could have been avoided had the ‘upper’ caste people outraged over a dialogue actually read the very text they were seeking to defend. Another needless controversy over culture and food, provoked, as usual, by Hindutva hot-heads has broken […]

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POPE CALLS FOR GLOBAL BAN ON “DESPICABLE” PRACTICE OF SURROGACY

Mon 08 January 2024: Pope Francis called Monday for a global ban on surrogacy, calling the practice “deplorable.” “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally,” he told ambassadors accredited to the […]

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AFTER SEEING THE STRUGGLE OF PALESTINIANS IN GAZA, TIKTOK USERS ARE LEARNING ABOUT ISLAM

Mon 25 December 2023: The ongoing conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel is playing out on screens like never before. Through social media, millions are witnessing the violence that has killed thousands since Oct. 7. People have turned to social media to learn about the history and politics of the region. And increasingly, many are using […]

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BETHLEHEM’S BOMBED-OUT NATIVITY SCULPTURE SENDS A POWERFUL MESSAGE

Mon 25 December 2023: Bethlehem, occupied West Bank — This year, Bethlehem is sombre and quiet. There is no Christmas tree and there are no holiday lights or tourists to see them. Instead, the city of Jesus’s birth – which is in the middle of a war zone – is marking Christmas with a powerful and poignant message: […]

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POPE FRANCIS APPROVES BLESSINGS FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

Tue 19 December 2023: Under certain conditions, Pope Francis has approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, the official Vatican News agency reported on Monday. “With the Declaration “Fiducia supplicans” issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by Pope Francis, it will be possible to bless same-sex couples but without any […]

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USCIRF ALARMED BY INDIA’S ‘INCREASED TRANSNATIONAL TARGETING’ OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Sat 16 December 2023: New Delhi: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a detailed statement and again called upon the Joe Biden administration to designate India a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC. It said it is “alarmed by India’s increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf. Recent […]

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