New report says Germany’s Catholic Church faces major decline in membership, revenue May 16, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Germany’s Catholic Church will be forced to give up a third of its properties in the face of dwindling membership and revenue, according to a new report, with many buildings facing demolition unless converted to other uses.
Catholic leaders welcome ‘focus on service’ at king’s coronation May 8, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News Catholic leaders in Britain welcomed the ecumenical and interfaith elements in the May 6 coronation of King Charles III and his consort, Queen Camilla, as well as a pledge by the new monarch “not to be served but to serve.”
Britain’s Catholics prepare for king’s upcoming coronation May 1, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News King Charles III reaffirmed his Protestant identity in speeches after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 — and will reaffirm it again during the coronation service.
Catholic priests martyred during Paris Commune are beatified April 24, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News Five Catholic priests have been beatified in France, 152 years after they were seized as hostages and shot in the street by rebels of the Paris Commune.
Church leaders welcome move on Russian war crimes in Ukraine, decry abduction of Ukrainian children March 28, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News Ukrainian church leaders have warned Russians they will have to answer for savagery inflicted on their country, following the International Criminal Court’s indictment of President Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
Legendary communist-era priest, Father Blachnicki, was murdered, Polish authorities confirm March 20, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News Polish church leaders have welcomed renewed calls for the beatification of a popular priest, Father Franciszek Blachnicki (1921-1987), following official confirmation that he was killed by communist secret police agents.
‘We cannot defend ourselves without arms,’ Ukrainian archbishop says in a Catholic panel February 9, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has defended President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s requests for long-range weapons, although a Vatican diplomat warned that arm supply is a complex topic.
Ukraine’s embattled religious orders keep faith and hope alive amid war February 4, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News Catholic religious orders have played a major role in channeling life-saving humanitarian aid across Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, keeping hopes alive while continuing to minister to the country’s much-depleted Catholic communities.
Catholic groups say increasing Russian missile attacks make providing supplies to Ukrainians ‘extremely dangerous’ January 17, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News In a national message Jan. 15, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, said the attack on Dnipro, where three days of mourning were declared, had been the “most tragic” of 57 weekend missile strikes against Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities.
Ukrainian bishops say people ‘determined to fight on’ despite worsening conditions January 13, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News Auxiliary Bishop Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia said that despite worsening conditions following Christmas and the start of the new year, the people in war-torn eastern Ukraine are determined to fight on.