The Ukrainian Catholic Church dedicated its new cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, a move some hope will help the church being designated a patriarchate.
When Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation in February, he made it very clear that he had done so only after intense prayer and that he intended to live the rest of his life praying and studying.
Teams of relief workers visited evacuation centers and Catholic parishes-turned-shelters across a wide area of the Philippine capital as they began assessing the needs of thousands of people who fled homes inundated by floodwaters.
Even before retired Pope Benedict XVI set up a pontifical council for new evangelization and convoked a world Synod of Bishops on the theme, a new group of Benedictine monks was using Latin and liturgy to reach out to those whose faith was weak or nonexistent.
Attacks on Christian churches and institutions in Egypt appeared to be the result of Islamist extremists’ anger over what they perceived as Christian support for the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi.
Pope Francis will host a meeting of cardinals Sept. 30 to formally approve the canonization of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII; the date for the canonization will be announced at that time, said Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.
A Catholic bishop in Luxor, about 400 miles south of Cairo, said Muslims and Christians are afraid to leave their homes; because the shops are closed and no one is venturing outside, many are running out of food.
Faith isn’t something decorative one adds to life, but is a commitment that involves making choices that may require sacrifice, Pope Francis said.
Speaking on behalf of Catholics in Egypt, Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak said the violence and unrest in his country are “not a political struggle between different factions, but a war against terrorism.”
Workers for Catholic relief agencies prepared to deliver aid to tens of thousands of displaced people in Manila and surrounding communities after flooding caused by seasonal monsoon rains and an offshore typhoon.