‘Return to Holy Land!’ bishop says, urging pilgrims to visit West Bank, support Christians March 14, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Crisis in Israel, Feature, News, World News A bishop in Jerusalem has appealed for Christians to start returning to the Holy Land on pilgrimage, insisting they should visit holy places located within Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Irish voters resoundingly reject proposals to redefine family, undermine motherhood March 11, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Marriage & Family Life, News, World News The Irish prime minister, known as the Taoiseach, has conceded that his government was defeated “comprehensively” when voters rejected amendments to the constitution that the country’s bishops warned would have weakened supports for marriage and undermined motherhood.
Irish bishops appeal for protecting identity of family amid March 8 constitutional referendum March 7, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Marriage & Family Life, News, World News A constitutional referendum scheduled for March 8 could weaken the incentive for young people to get married, Ireland’s bishops have warned.
Irish bishops urge immediate end to Israel-Hamas hostilities as children in Gaza face starvation March 6, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Crisis in Israel, Feature, News, World News Ireland’s Catholic bishops called on Israel and Hamas to immediately end hostilities in the Holy Land as the war triggered by the Oct. 7 attacks enters its sixth month, and U.N. agencies warn that children are dying of starvation in Gaza.
Benedictine abbot calls Jerusalem spitting incident against him ‘heartbreaking’ February 6, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Crisis in Israel, Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News The head of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem has described as “heartbreaking” an incident of being spat at by Jewish extremists in the Old City, describing the suspects as “hooligans of religion.”
As King Charles is diagnosed with cancer, Cardinal Nichols offers ‘steadfast prayers’ February 6, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News Cardinal Vincent Nichols has offered “steadfast prayers” on behalf of Catholics after it was announced that Britain’s King Charles III is undergoing treatment for cancer.
Northern Ireland has Catholic leading its government for the first time in history February 5, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News Michelle O’Neill of the Sinn Féin party is the first Catholic to head the region’s government.
‘We need a generation to forget’ on both sides of conflict, says Palestinian bishop February 1, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Crisis in Israel, Feature, News, World News Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem told OSV News that the level of destruction in Gaza is unprecedented and many residents there are “starving.”
Islamic State group claims responsibility for attack on church in Turkey January 29, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis has expressed his closeness to the small Catholic community in Turkey after gunmen attacked a church during Sunday morning Mass Jan. 28, leaving at least one worshipper dead.
Christians’ testimony in Gaza a ‘true miracle’ amid nonstop war, says Holy Land guardian January 15, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Crisis in Israel, Feature, News, World News As the world marked 100 days since the Hamas militants attacks that unleashed hell in the Holy Land, images of the children from Holy Family Parish — the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip — dressed in white albs to receive the sacrament were a stark and welcome contrast in a land that has had little reason to smile since Oct. 7.
Northern Ireland parents strongly reject idea of teaching about access to abortion in schools January 12, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, World News Almost three out of four people who responded to a public consultation have rejected a proposal by the British government that would require schools in Northern Ireland, including Catholic schools, to teach students how to access an abortion.
Relocation of Palestinians cannot be a solution to Gaza crisis, U.S. officials say January 9, 2024By Michael Kelly OSV News Filed Under: Crisis in Israel, Feature, News, World News As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has insisted that Palestinians must not be pressured into leaving Gaza and must be allowed to return to their homes once conditions allow, Christians in the Holy Land worry the Israeli statements may threaten other small communities in the Holy Land, including theirs.