Audit of Spanish Church abuses finds more than 2,000 victims
Madrid, SpainReuters An investigation commissioned by the Spanish Catholic Church into child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and non-clerical staff has so far identified 1,383 complaints and 2,056 victims, an audit of the inquiry showed on Thursday. The Spanish Church has been grappling with an abuse scandal since a 2021 investigation by El […]
Sight-Seeing: In a world darkened by war, Christmas provides hope where there seems to be none
NILS VON KALM says the period of Advent forces us to “live in reality, with all its messiness and uncertain promises”…
After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid “rigid ideologies”
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis urged Vatican bureaucrats Thursday to avoid “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from understanding today’s reality, an appeal made days after he formally allowed priests to bless same-sex couples in a radical change of Vatican policy. Francis used his annual Christmas greeting to the Holy See hierarchy to encourage the cardinals, bishops and […]
Twenty-four Venezuelans released as part of US prisoner swap, opposition says
Caracas, VenezuelaReuters Twenty-four Venezuelans have been freed as part of this week’s prisoner exchange deal with the United States, Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday. The United States announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden had granted clemency to Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in […]
Gaza war “most dangerous ever” for journalists, says rights group
JerusalemReuters The first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war have been the deadliest recorded for journalists, with the most journalists killed in a single year in one location, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. Most of the journalists and media workers killed in the war – 61 out of 68 – were […]
Russia has fired 7,400 missiles, 3,700 Shahed drones in war so far, Kyiv says
Reuters Russia has launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,700 Shahed attack drones at targets in Ukraine during its 22-month-old invasion, Kyiv said on Thursday, illustrating the vast scale of Moscow’s aerial assaults. Ukrainian air defences were able to shoot down 1,600 of the missiles and 2,900 of the drones, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said […]
Israel intensifies Gaza strikes, Hamas fires rockets amid truce talks
Cairo, Egypt/Gaza/JerusalemReuters Fighting in the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday with some of the most intense Israeli bombardment of the war and Hamas demonstrated its ability to rocket Tel Aviv, even as the foes engaged in the most serious talks for weeks on a new truce. Israeli bombing was at its most intense over northern […]
Gunman kills 14 in unprecedented attack at Prague university
Updated: 11:15pm (AEDT)Prague, Czech RepiublicReuters A 24-year-old Czech student shot dead his father, then killed 14 people and wounded 25 others at his Prague university on Thursday before possibly killing himself, police said, marking the country’s worst-ever mass shooting. The government declared a day of mourning across the central European country for 23rd December to […]
On the Screen: ‘One Life’, a polished retelling of the story of some real-life heroes
DAVID ADAMS watches ‘One Life’…
Nicaragua jails second Catholic bishop as crackdown intensifies
Reuters Nicaragua arrested another Catholic bishop on Wednesday, a source in close contact with local church leaders told Reuters following local media reports, making the bishop the second such leader to be detained in a prolonged crackdown. Police arrested Bishop Isidro Mora of the Triangulo Minero diocese, located along the country’s northern Caribbean coast, according […]