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(Vatican Radio) The number of Catholics in the world has increased with growth registered across all five continents. The figures are taken by the Fides news agency from the latest edition of the Church’s Book of Statistics updated to 31 December 2012. These show that on that date the number of Catholics in the world stood at 1,228,621,000 with an overall increase of more than 15,000,000 compared to the previous year. The Americas and Africa registered the biggest increases followed by Asia, Europe and Oceania. The world percentage of Catholics stood at 17.49 %, a decrease of 0.01% compared to...

Bishops appeal for change in report prepared for the first family synodMost German bishops now believe that divorced and remarried Catholics should be allowed to receive Holy Communion, according to a new report published by the German bishops’ conference. In late December, the bishops published “Theologically Responsible and Pastorally Appropriate Ways for Accompanying the Divorced and Remarried” on the bishops’ conference website. Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the Bonn-based bishops’ conference, said: “This document contains reflections only and has no juridical power.” He said the German bishops’ conference hopes “to offer its own theological contribution in this area. While we can...

 Investor’s Business Daily notes the stark chilling nature of Pope’s upcoming climate push. It’s anything but Catholic. Pope Francis' recent leftist statements should trouble Catholics and non-Catholics alike, but even more disturbing are the pope's latest declarations on the dramatic action needed to fight climate change. The Vatican apparently now has been infiltrated by followers of a radical green movement that is, at its core, anti-Christian, anti-people, anti-poor and anti-development. The basic tenets of Catholicism — the sanctity of human life and the value of all souls — are detested by the modern pagan environmentalists who worship the created, but...

The establishment of a pro-life centre to assist pregnant women in crisis has resulted in the lives of more than 100 babies being saved in the past two years. That's according to the operators of the Holy Innocents Crisis Centre, which was set up after a heated national debate on abortion in 2009. At that time, pro-lifers - persons opposed to abortion - and pro-choice lobby groups sought to provide convincing arguments for their positions in Parliament. Among the pro-lifers was prominent philanthropist Father Richard Ho Lung, who decided to start the Holy Innocents Crisis Centre at National Heroes Circle...

Newsweek magazine decided to greet the start of 2015 with a massive cover story on the Bible. For decades now, major newsmagazines have tended to feature cover articles timed for Christmas and Easter, taking an opportunity to consider some major question about Christianity and the modern world. Leading the journalistic pack for years, both TIME and Newsweek dedicated cover article after article, following a rather predictable format. In the main, scholars or leaders from very liberal quarters commented side-by-side those committed to historic Christianity on questions ranging from the virgin birth to the resurrection of Christ. When written by journalists...

An interview with Fr. George Rutler, pastor of the Church of St. Michael in New York City, and noted author and commentatorRev. George William Rutler, 69, is pastor of the Church of St. Michael in New York City. He was raised in the Episcopal tradition while growing up in the Northeast, and served nine years as an Episcopal priest. He converted to Catholicism in 1979, and was ordained a priest in 1981. He has served in a variety of parishes in New York, and as chaplain for many organizations, including Legatus, an organization for Catholic business leaders. He has served...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uESf7la8C80&list=PLCIlBJSHXyrrhBeYGilqH9S5DgotIqAR8&index=13

Iranian pastor Behnam Irani is being held in solitary confinement and is facing 18 new charges, including "spreading corruption on Earth," which is a capital crime. This is similar to "Moharabeh," or "warring against God," which was recently charged to another Christian, Pastor Matthias Haghnejad. Pastor Irani was arrested in December 2006, and sentenced in 2011 to six years imprisonment for "action against the state" and "action against the order." The fresh charges appear to be part of a surge in repression under the Rouhani presidency targeting religious and ethnic minorities. In June, Pastor Irani was removed from prison and...

Atrocities by the Islamic State (ISIS) are softening the hearts of Muslims to Christianity, and evangelistic techniques and technologies are proving effective, but locally-based missionaries say the main reason for the spike in conversions in the Middle East is simply that former Muslims are finding God is real. In war-torn areas of Syria and Iraq where ISIS is fighting to establish a caliphate, Muslim refugees to neighboring countries, Internally Displaced People and people remaining at home are learning about Christ from native aid workers, podcasts and broadcasts. Tent churches among refugees are sprouting like mushrooms. For people who have suffered...

In a few days Georgia Walker, at age 67, intends to become a priest, at which point she will be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. That doesn’t faze her. “I don’t accept the legitimacy of that excommunication,” said Walker, who will be the first woman in Kansas City to defy the church and be ordained a priest. The church in turn will not accept the legitimacy of her ordination because, under canon law, only men can be priests. “That’s their problem,” Walker said of the church. That steadfastness is a trait of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests,...

Mary Wagner was arrested Tuesday morning after entering the Bloor West Village Women’s Clinic. Mary entered the abortion facility around 9:15 a.m., with pairs of white and red roses with attached pregnancy support hot-line cards. She had pro-life counselling pamphlets available to give to the women who were scheduled for abortions that hour. It did not take very long for the police to arrive, three cruisers within 35 minutes. Mary was arrested and handcuffed around 10:00 a.m. Several supporters were outside on the sidewalk, praying and distributing pro-life pamphlets to the general public. One of the supporters, Father Paul Nicholson...

Pope Francis delivers his first Sunday Angelus on March 17, 2013. Credit: InterMirifica.net. Vatican City, Dec 26, 2014 / 10:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the feast day of Saint Stephen on Dec. 26, noting that the martyrdom of the early Church saint helps prevent the Christmas season from being reduced to a trivial celebration. “The Gospel of this feast gives a part of Jesus’ discourse to his disciples in the moment in which He sends them on mission. Among other things, He says, 'You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the...

Syrian refugee and Caritas Jordan volunteer Amer Fahd Al Naser, his wife Noor, and their sons, at their apartment in Jordan, October 2014. Credit: Kevin Jones/CNA. Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 26, 2014 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic participation in refugee and humanitarian relief in the Syrian civil war is strengthening a foundation for future peace despite the great difficulties of the region, says an official of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. “The Church is a very big player in the humanitarian efforts,” said Monsignor Giampietro Dal Toso, the pontifical council’s secretary. “The fact that we are helping the whole population...

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean PateauAbbot of Our Lady of FontgombaultFontgombault, December 25, 2014 Natus est vobis hodie Salvator. For unto you is born this day a Saviour. (Lk 2:11) Dear Brothers and Sisters, My dearly beloved Sons, On this holy night, let us greet anew the divine Child Who has come to bring on our earth the fire of uncreated Love. Let us hasten towards the Crib where the Word of God, the Almighty Word, is born to us from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us not forget that today in the Holy Land which was in...

At almost the same moment that Cardinal Raymond Burke said in an interview that those defending Catholic moral teaching – and the practice of barring people in irregular sexual unions from receiving Communion – are being marginalized within the Church, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales have issued a document for clergy that all but accuses such Catholics of the ancient Donatist heresy. In a “Reflection Document for Clergy,” the English bishops appear to follow the line of Cardinal Walter Kasper and his followers, saying, “It is not for us to make rash or premature conclusions” about people living...

THE FIRST CHRISTMAS CAROL"Lo! I Arrive To Do Thy Will!"Introduction: Have you ever considered, What is the first Christmas Carol?A carol is a song of joyful praise involving the birth of The Lord Jesus Christ. The first carol goes all the way back to the night in which The Lord Jesus Christ was born. No, it was not the Shepherds! Neither was it the Heavenly host which the shepherds heard. But even before the angels sang, The Lord Jesus Himself sang. Yes, That Little Baby in the manger sang the first Christmas Carol. It was not heard by His parents,...

Those intrepid newshounds at ThinkProgress have uncovered nefarious doings in the dark, secretive world of … the Knights of Columbus. You thought the Catholic fraternal organization was all funny hats, ceremonial swords and Special Olympics donations. If only! It turns out the Knights “Bankroll America’s Social Conservative Movement,” according to ThinkProgress’s headline. Besides casting a sleazy aspersion about the compensation of the “Supreme Knight,” the nearly 1,900-word article is utterly, well, stupid. Can liberals reading ThinkProgress be so cut off from religious culture that they’re shocked a Catholic organization believes Church teaching? Perhaps they can. Among the revelations: The Knights...

The president of the German bishops' conference has said that the bishops favor allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to share in the Eucharist. Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that most bishops support 'differentiated solutions that do justice to the individual case and under certain conditions allow admission to the sacraments.” Cardinal Marx-- who is also a member of the Council of Cardinals-- had signaled his own support for the "Kasper proposal" during October's meeting of the Synod of Bishops. But he took an additional step by saying that the German episcopal conference as a body would back the proposal.

Each year it is customary for the Roman Pontiff to meet and greet members of the Roman Curia just before Christmas. The Pope gives an address. Often that address is a kind of “State of the Union”, describing things that occurred and prospect for the future. In 2005 Benedict XVI famously used the occasion to deliver one of the most important addresses of many modern pontificates. He spoke of the proper interpretive principles to apply to the Second Vatican Council.Today Pope Francis also addressed the Curia. I just finished watching the video. It seemed to me, frankly, to be more...

Bishop Christopher J. Coyne gives a blessing March 25, 2012 during the Mass of Dedication at the new St. Mary-of-the-Knobs Church in Floyd County, Ind. (Criterion file photo) Burlington, Vt., Dec 22, 2014 / 12:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Auxiliary Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Indianapolis has been chosen by Pope Francis to be the next bishop of Burlington, Vermont, announced the Vatican Dec. 22. In a Dec. 22 statement, Bishop Coyne voiced joy and thanked the Holy Father for his trust. He told the people of Burlington: “I come to you ready to commit myself completely to the work of...