Aid worker killings rise, fuelled by conflict in South Sudan, Syria
Thomson Reuters Foundation Nearly 140 aid workers were killed last year, a 23 per cent rise on 2016, according to data released on Monday that showed South Sudan was the most dangerous country in which to deliver aid for the third year running. The figures revealed a dramatic increase in aid worker kidnappings and fatal […]
Catholic priest killed in Peru
A Spanish Jesuit priest working among Indigenous people in Peru has been murdered. Vatican News reports that the body of Fr Carlos Riudavets Montes was found last Friday morning with several stab wounds and his hands bound in the school he ran. Reports said the fact nothing seemed to be stolen seemed to rule out burglary as […]
Catholic Health Australia urges senators to vote against proposed bill opening door to euthanasia in territories
The CEO of Catholic Health Australia has expressed “deep concerns” over a bill being presented in the Australian Senate which would give Australian territories the right to pass assisted suicide and euthanasia legislation. The private members bill, put forward by Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm, aims to overturn a 20-year-old law preventing the Australian Capital Territory […]
Orthodox Convent of St Thecla in Syrian town of Maaloula to reopen soon
The Orthodox Convent of St Thecla in the Syrian town of Maaloula will soon be open again to visiting pilgrims and tourists. Catholic news agency Agenzia Fides reports that reconstruction work on the monastery is nearing completion and cites Russian media as reporting that nuns have already returned to the monastery. Maaloula, located 55 kilometres […]
US: FOR MILITARY FAMILIES, THIS CHURCH AIMS TO BE MANNA FROM HEAVEN
YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports on how one US evangelical church is reaching out to military families…
Australian Census analysis shows rising percentage of students identifying with ‘no religion’
Thirty-seven per cent of Australian students identify as having ‘no religion’ – up from 29 per cent in 2006, according to an analysis of Census data. The analysis, carried out by the Independent Schools Council of Australia, also found that the proportion of students who identified as Catholic had declined from 30 per cent in […]
POSTCARDS: FROM LONDON TO NEW YORK, SLEEP PODS OFFER EXHAUSTED COMMUTERS AN ‘OASIS OF PEACE’
ADELA SULIMAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from London on why ‘sleep pods’ are popping up in cities across the world…
THIS LIFE: KEEP SHARING YOUR STORY
US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article first published on ASSIST News Service, writes about the importance of sharing your story…
Prosecutors in Egypt charge defrocked monk over Coptic bishop’s death
Prosecutors in Egypt have charged a former monk with the murder of a Coptic Orthodox bishop, Vatican News reports. Bishop Epiphanius was found dead in a pool of blood on 29th July at the desert-based Monastery of San Macario, about 100 kilometres outside of Cairo. Police reportedly concluded the bishop had been struck with a sharp […]