Pope, papal foundation urge more equitable economic model in impending encyclical.   Pope Benedict XVI elevates the chalice as he celebrates Mass on the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome on June 14. Photo:Emanuela De Meo, Catholic Press Photo.     By Sarah Delaney ROME (CNS) - Pope Ben...

Catholic Mission and its supporters attended National Climate Emergency Rallies held across the country last Saturday demanding that Australia take immediate action to reduce its carbon emmissions, support "green" jobs and reject nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels. The protests were an initiative of the Australia's Climate Action Summit, a left-aligned network of groups and in...

An eight-year-old girl, five Chinese Sisters and a handful of dedicated charity workers turn the tide against overwhelming odds.   Daughter of many: Zou Qian, above, an unconscious eight-year-old resident of the Hongjiang AIDS Loving Care Centre awaits diagnosis at Changsha Hospital surrounded by the centre’s Sisters who love and care for her (below).   ...

 Sisters have made all the difference in a village walled off from the outside world for decades by bricks - and fear.   Fan Jo Chun, 73, centre, and Yi Won Chin, 63, share a joke with Fr Francis Zhang OSC. Although leprosy has caused suffering, they are upbeat about the future.   By Mark Reidy As I sit in the main street of a leprosy village in t...