YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Pope Francis has condemned a “cowardly attack” on a refugee camp in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Mugunga camp is home to around 27,000 internally displaced people. The Congolese military accused the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels of carrying out the attack. At least 18 people were killed, many of them children, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It said more than 30 other people were wounded. In a May 8 letter addressed to Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele of Goma Diocese, Pope Francis said he learnt ..read more

NEW YORK – In a reversal of a 2021 decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Catholic school in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, was justified in firing a substitute teacher over his same-sex relationship. Lonnie Billard, the teacher, sued Charlotte Catholic High School and the Diocese of Charlotte in 2017 for firing him from his teaching position after the school found out about his wedding to another man, which he posted about on Facebook. In September 2021, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn sided with Billard, ruling that Charlotte Catholic High School and the Diocese of Cha ..read more

Over 90 Catholic schools across South London and Kent took part in a rosary led by Archbishop John Wilson, as part of the Archdiocese of Southwark’s campaign to encourage young people to pray.  Archbishop John led the rosary from Notre Dame Secondary School in Southwark, where he was joined by children from St George’s Cathedral Catholic Primary School. Pupils from across South London and Kent joined online, with the rosary was broadcast live. The Archdiocesan wide rosary is part of a wider plan to encourage young people and children to ‘Give Prayer A Go’ and to make prayer a pa ..read more

An Ascension Day procession in Bavaria If you are near Oxford, make haste to the Bodleian Library, where you will find on display the autograph of Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, BWV 128, a cantata for Ascension by JS Bach. It is one of only four Bach manuscripts in the UK, and amongst the best-preserved in the world. Seeing the scribbles, blotches, smudges, and wonky bar lines brings one almost to within hand-shaking distance of genius. The opening movement is Bach at his most jubilant. As the chorus proclaims Christ’s ascent, two horns fight for attention with rapid repeated notes and heaven ..read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Bishop John Sherrington, who heads the bishops’ conference on life issues, is concerned that proposed amendments in the British Parliament will liberalise the country’s abortion laws. Four amendments have been submitted to the Criminal Justice Bill which relate to the protection of unborn babies and will be debated on May 15. “I am deeply alarmed by two amendments to the same Bill, one of which is proposed by Dame Diana Johnson [a member of parliament] (New Clause 1). This amendment, if passed, will remove any legal protection for unborn babies when a woman seeks to ..read more

I have always been fascinated with British history. As a child, the monarchs, the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, Celts and Romans all intrigued me. I was also fascinated by Christianity. Being raised in a denomination with a comparatively short history, I was keen to learn about great Christian figures beyond my Pentecostal upbringing. So when I discovered the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History at the age of twelve, I was captivated. The stories of great saints and miraculous encounters engaged me in a compelling way, and its legends stuck with me. It meant that when I recently bega ..read more

Robert de Niro has been one of the more strident voices warnings about the danger of a Trump win in the American election.  When he played the Jesuit Mendoza in the film The Mission some years ago, he made an enormous impact on me and many others. He came to embody a gritty courageous Catholic persona. In the same way that Julie Andrews would be forever Mary Poppins to some, De Niro is always Mendoza the Jesuit to others. And although he has had the widest variety of roles, something of the existential authority of the Jesuit hangs onto his coat tails for me and perhaps many. I still hear ..read more

NEW YORK – A lawsuit filed by the State of Florida and on behalf of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) claims that new non-discrimination regulations implemented by the Biden administration is unlawful overreach that will “fundamentally redefine the practice of medicine”. On May 6, the federal register officially published changes the Department of Health and Human Services made to the nondiscrimination provisions in the Affordable Care Act, known as Section 1557, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the definition of discrimination on the basis of sex. In response, the State o ..read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Abuse and mistreatment remain endemic throughout immigrant detention centers in the UK, according to a new report by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK). The agency on Wednesday published a new report, After Brook House: Continued Abuses in Immigration Detention, which says patterns of mistreatment detailed by the Independent Inquiry into events at Brook House Immigration Removal Center (IRC) are ongoing throughout UK immigration detention centers. The Independent Inquiry was published in September 2023, six years after the BBC’s Panorama news feat ..read more

Britain’s leading Catholic international aid agency has spoken out after Israel launched a new military offensive on Rafah in the southern part of Gaza on 7 May. The local partner of CAFOD, the aid agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, described the current situation in the Rafah area of Gaza as a “cut and paste” kind of terror. It explained that “families already traumatised from being moved four, even five times, are being torn apart again and forced from one shelter to another”, adding that there are no safe places in Gaza to which people can flee. Since the star ..read more