Vatican says states cannot force priests to violate seal of confession
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican on Monday reaffirmed Catholic teaching that priests cannot reveal what they learn in confession, in an apparent response to moves in Australia and elsewhere to force them to do so in cases of sexual abuse. A document from the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, which deals with issues of the sacrament of confession, […]
Traffickers seen targeting homeless people in Britain
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Homeless people are among the victims in seven per cent of all reported modern slavery cases in Britain, according to research by the anti-slavery charity Unseen released on Friday. Unseen said traffickers were “purposefully targeting homeless people for exploitation”, including making them commit crimes, most commonly through forced begging. Homeless people were […]
Christian and Jewish bodies formally restore relations after 20 year break
The World Council of Churches and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations have agreed to restore formal relations after a 20 year break following a meeting in Paris late last month. In a communique issued at the end of the 25th to 27th June meeting, the two organisations said that at meeting they explored […]
Stateless woman tells how she couldn’t visit dying dad
The Hague, The NetherlandsThomson Reuters Foundation When Ekaterina’s father was dying she could not visit him in Uzbekistan because she did not have a passport – so she tried to get herself deported. But as a stateless person living in the United States, she could not even do that. An empty chair is seen at […]
One migrant child dies each day worldwide, UN data shows
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation A migrant child died almost every day over the past four years while trying to reach safety, the UN said on Friday, as a photo of a man and his young daughter who drowned while trying to enter the US sparked global outcry. The UN migration agency said that at least 32,000 […]
THE INTERVIEW: DON STEPHENS, CO-FOUNDER OF MERCY SHIPS
International Christian hospital ship charity Mercy Ships is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. DAVID ADAMS spoke via email to American Don Stephens, who co-founded the organisation with his wife Deyon back in 1979…
US civil rights advocates, victims’ families urge support for new hate crime reporting bill
RNS Nearly three years ago, Khalid Jabara, an immigrant from Lebanon, died on his own doorstep in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when his neighbour gunned him down. One year later on the same day of the month – 12th August – a woman named Heather Heyer was struck and killed by a white supremacist driving a car after […]
POSTCARDS: NO ROOM ON WATER, NO HOME ON LAND FOR CAMBODIA’S ETHNIC VIETNAMESE
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Cambodia…
Vatican says China intimidating Catholics loyal to Pope
Vatican CityReuters The Vatican asked China’s communist government on Friday to stop intimidating Catholic clergy who want to remain unequivocally loyal to the Pope and refuse to sign ambiguous official registration forms. The request, contained in Vatican guidelines to clergy in mainland China, was the latest hiccup in relations between the Holy See and Beijing […]