World

Jimmy Lai was today convicted of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in Hong Kong under the controversial National Security Law. Mr Lai, a 78-year-old prisoner of conscience, now faces a potential sentence of life in prison. Mr Lai was convicted under the National Security Law for his work as editor and publisher of the popular, pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and his advoca... Read More

Many messages have been arriving in the wake of yesterday's horrific attack on the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration in Sydney Australia, in which 15 people were killed, included two Rabbis, a ten year old child, an 87 year old Holocaust survivor who died trying to protect his wife and an 82 year old Holocaust survivor. Several more people were injured, some critically. Pope Leo XIV After hearing t... Read More

At least 12 people were killed today and 29 wounded in a terror attack at a Hanukkah event in Sydney's Bondi Beach. The Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher, said: "As we follow the horrific news coming from this evening's shooting at Bondi Beach, let us pray for those who have been killed or injured, the many who were forced to run for their lives and our emergency service workers who ... Read More

The Polish Bishops' Conference visited Pope Leo XIV last week. During their Audience with the Holy Father they presented him with a letter inviting him to Poland. The President of the Archbishop Wojda, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda SAC, said: "the Pope received us with great kindness" and "took a keen interest in various matters... He said that he had visited Poland many times, that Poland is very cl... Read More

An international transport company based in Central America has been forced to add Bibles, books, magazines and printed newspapers to the list of items prohibited from entering Nicaragua. The Central American media outlet CentroAmérica360 reports that notices placed at Tica Bus terminals in Costa Rica from which the company's trips to the Nicaraguan capital Managua depart include the newly prohib... Read More

The Military Council in Myanmar's Kachin State has reportedly ordered all Christian churches in townships designated for the country's 28 December elections, including Myitkyina, Putao and Tanai, to hold their Christmas celebrations before 20 December to avoid conflict with the elections. Churches in the state, which has been subject to a blanket internet blackout for over a year, are reportedly c... Read More

On International Human Rights Day - commemorated each year on 10 December - the UN's children agency launched a new appeal for humanitarian action next year to provide aid to 73 million children across 133 countries. 75 years ago the world observed Human Rights Day for the first time on 10 December. It commemorates the anniversary of the global pledge - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a... Read More

Pope Leo XIV met today with a delegation of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) of the European Parliament, a centre-right political group within the European Union's legislative body. He thanked the democratically elected politicians for their service to their constituents and the wider European community and urged them never to forget their duty to include people on the margins... Read More

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday morning, 9 December. The Holy See Press Office issued a statement describing the cordial meeting, saying discussions centred mainly on the war in Ukraine. During their talks, the Pope reiterated the importance of ongoing dialogue and once again stressed his "urgent hope that ongoing d... Read More

The Holy See's official Pontifical Yearbook is now available online, providing up-to-date information on the Catholic Church's institutions across the globe. The new platform offers data on the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, Dioceses, Religious Institutes, and Apostolic Nunciatures. The project was jointly developed by the Secretariat of State and the Dicastery for Communication. Archbishop Edgar... Read More

One hundred of the 253 schoolchildren who were abducted in an armed raid on St Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area (LGA) in Niger State were transported to the state capital, Minna, yesterday, 8 December, where they were officially received by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago before being handed over to government officials. Nigeria's Fed... Read More

The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) expresses concern in a statement over a recent ruling by the EU Court of Justice on the recognition of same-sex marriages across Member States. In a statement released on Tuesday, December 9, the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) expressed concern over a recent judgment issued by the Cou... Read More

Around 2,000 Christians representing more than 200 denominations gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India on 29 November to draw attention to increasing hostility faced by Christians and to advocate for long-delayed legal and constitutional reforms. The day-long National Christian Convention, organised by a coalition including the All Indian Catholic Union and the United Christian Forum (UC... Read More

On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, today, Pope Leo XIV prayed the Angelus with pilgrims in St Peter's Square and invited us to believe as Mary did to welcome Christ into their lives. "The 'yes' of the Mother of the Lord is wonderful, but so also can ours be, renewed each day faithfully, with gratitude, humility and perseverance, in prayer and in concrete acts of love, from the most ext... Read More