Nelson Mandela, who led the struggle to replace South Africa’s apartheid regime with a multiracial democracy, died Dec. 5 at his home in Johannesburg. Mandela, 95, became the country’s first black president in 1994. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Pope Francis accepted a proposal to set up a special commission on the sexual abuse of children, which will advise him on ways to prevent abuse and provide pastoral care for victims and their families.
Church leaders in the Central African Republic are hoping the arrival of French and African troops will help settle a situation that has effectively left people barricaded in their homes in the capital, Bangui.
In the Philippines, the Christmas season starts in September, but the final nine days of Advent have special meaning. “Generally in the Filipino culture … when the ‘ber’ months come, September, October, November, there are already Christmas decorations,” said Father Carmelo Arada Jr. “There are already Christmas carols in the malls.”
In late February, Pope Francis will be seeing red and a lot of it as he meets with the College of Cardinals and creates new members.
Christian hope believes in “God’s tomorrow,” his mysterious plan that sometimes seems to go against dreams and expectations, Pope Francis told a group of cloistered nuns.
Retired Archbishop Thomas Kwaku Mensah of Kumasi challenged Ghanaian Catholics to produce holy politicians endowed with the fear of God and who want to serve the nation selflessly rather than be served.
Climate change represents an “ethical challenge to civilization,” said the Vatican’s lead representative to an international conference discussing the worldwide impact of climate change.
The ruling body of the Church of England has signaled its overwhelming support for the ordination of women bishops, a year after opponents stalled the process.
While national borders are no longer barriers to trade, travel and communication, Pope Francis said, new walls are being erected in the form of inequality, discrimination and the violation of basic human rights.