Slovenia: new dioceses

As part of the reorganization of the diocesan structure of the Church in Slovenia, Benedict XVI has created three new dioceses: Novo Mesto, from territory subtracted from the archdiocese of Ljubljana; Celje, from territory subtracted from the diocese of Maribor; and Murska Sobota, also from territory detached from the diocese of Maribor. The Pope then […]

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Greece: hopes for a single Easter

“In Greece, this year too, we will be celebrating Easter separately. There won’t be the five weeks’ gap between our celebrations as there was last year, but even if it’s only one week this year, it’s enough to make us feel the pain of the separation of Christians, declared the President of the Greek Bishops’ […]

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The thread of hope

“That Christians may find in the crucified and risen Christ, heart of the faith, light for the ecumenical process and make their own contribution to the European challenges of secularisation, the meeting between cultures and religions, European unification and the dialogue between Europe and the other continents”: that, Monsignor ALDO GIORDANO , general secretary of […]

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Uppermost in his mind

On 19 April 2005, on the fourth ballot, the Conclave elected to the Throne of Peter the 78-year-old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who assumed the name of Benedict XVI. On the previous day, in his homily at the mass pro eligendo pontifice , he had said that “the small bark of the thought of many Christians” […]

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Hungary: no to sterilization

The “Forum for the Defence of Life” in Hungary has published a resolution on artificial sterilization, during an extraordinary conference held in Budapest in recent days. The question of assisted insemination for single women was also discussed during the meeting. The Hungarian Catholic press agency “Magyar Kurír” reports that the Constitutional Court recently judged anti-constitutional […]

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Italia: a bishop in Calabria excommunicates members of the Mafia

The bishop of Locri-Gerace in Calabria in Southern Italy, Giancarlo Maria Bregantini, has excommunicated members of organized crime rackets in the region for having perpetrated a series of attacks on the cooperatives promoted by the diocese. He has sent a letter to all the parish priests of the diocese excommunicating the perpetrators of such acts, […]

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Scotland: Cardinal O’Brien against gay adoptions

The Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and leader of the 800,000 Scottish Catholics, has protested against the new legislation adopted by the government which would permit homosexual couples to adopt children, in spite of the fact that a consultative referendum had shown that 89% of the Scottish population are contrary […]

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Germany: “Popetown”, a provocation

TV advertisements of the “Popetown” series, already bitterly contested in Great Britain, but now transmitted on the MTV television channel in Germany, have caused strong reactions of condemnation on the part of the German Bishops’ Conference, which, through its secretary Father Hans Langendörfer, has issued a press release on the matter on 10 April. “The […]

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Switzerland: delegation of bishops in Iran

Promoting interfaith dialogue: that’s the main objective proposed by the delegation of the “Islam” workgroup (GTI) that works within the Swiss Bishops’ Conference and that will visit Iran from 17 to 24 April. The programme for the visit will include a meeting with the Organization for Islamic Culture and Relations (ICRO). “Respect and dialogue – […]

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Albania: bilingual Gospel of John

The project for a Gospel of John in a bilingual Albanian and Italian edition, aimed in particular at Albanians living abroad, especially in Italy, has been made possible thanks to collaboration between the Bible Society in Tirana and its counterpart in Rome, and the financial support of Italian Caritas. The main characteristic of this Bible […]

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