UK judge: Council discriminated in removing bus ads promoting Franklin Graham festival
RNS A British judge has ruled a borough council and its transportation provider discriminated against Christians by removing bus ads promoting an event with evangelist Franklin Graham in the English seaside town of Blackpool. The ads, which were briefly placed on public buses prior to Graham’s 2018 Lancashire Festival of Hope, were taken down after […]
During Way of the Cross, Pope Francis put children at the centre
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis presided at a scaled back “Way of the Cross” service held in an empty St Peter’s Square on Friday due to coronavirus restrictions, listening as children recounted their fears and dreams. It was the second consecutive year that the “Via Crucis” procession, commemorating the last hours in Jesus’ life, was not […]
Boat carries 1,200 survivors from Mozambique militant attack to safety
Pemba, MozambiqueReuters A boat carrying 1,200 survivors of a deadly attack by Islamic State-linked insurgents in northern Mozambique reached safety in the port of Pemba on Thursday, some of them crying on arrival after spending days hiding in the bush. Aid workers were at the crowded port to give food to those disembarking from the […]
Train crash kills 48 in Taiwan’s deadliest rail tragedy for decades
Hualien, TaiwanReuters A Taiwan express train with almost 500 aboard derailed in a tunnel on Friday, killing at least 48 passengers and injuring 66 in the island’s worst rail disaster in almost four decades. Images from the scene showed carriages in the tunnel ripped apart by the impact, with others crumpled, hindering rescuers in their […]
Updated: Christians mark Good Friday, Holy Week under virus woes
Updated 10.30am, 3rd April, 2021 (AEDT)Jerusalem, IsraelAP Christians in the Holy Land marked Good Friday without the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the days leading up to Easter because of the coronavirus, and worshippers in many other predominantly Christian countries where the virus is still raging observed their second annual Holy Week with tight restrictions […]
Pope celebrates surprise Holy Thursday with ousted cardinal
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis celebrated a surprise Holy Thursday Mass with the cardinal he fired last year, extending an extraordinary gesture to Cardinal Angelo Becciu by celebrating the liturgy that commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper with his apostles before his crucifixion. News of the celebration in Becciu’s private chapel was confirmed by Becciu’s private secretary. In […]
Ukrainian artist couple turns military ammo boxes into Christian icons
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Visiting a military base in 2014, Ukrainian artist and icon painter Oleksandr Klymenko was struck by how much the bottom and cover of a wooden ammunition box could resemble a Christian icon panel. He borrowed one of the boxes from the base and painted a Byzantine icon featuring the Virgin Mary holding the […]
EU countries agree to share ‘solidarity vaccines’ with states in need
Brussels, BelgiumReuters Most European Union member states on Thursday agreed to share part of their upcoming vaccine deliveries with the five EU countries they said need them most. The EU’s vaccine doses are usually distributed between the bloc’s 27 countries based on population size. Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine labels […]