The number of Catholics globally remains largely unchanged at 1214 million, rising only slightly higher than global population growth for the 2010/2011 period. The number of priests (religious and diocesan) has grown, largely thanks to a rise in vocations in Asia and Africa which has helped balance the continued decline in Europe (-9% in the last decade).
“Instead of us closing parishes and closing schools, we’re doing the opposite. We’re in total growth mode,” said Deacon Sean Smith, chancellor for the Diocese of Knoxville. When Knoxville was established as a diocese in 1988 it had 37 parishes. It has since added 14, including four mission parishes.
The Most Rev Justin Welby picked out two recent examples of religious programming for praise. Dropping religion from TV schedules would have "dangerous" consequences, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
On June 30, 1,000 voices will echo across the seven hills of Durham to herald the return of the Lindisfarne Gospels. Lizzie Anderson discovers how plans for the long-awaited concert are shaping up. The concert, on Palace Green, will bring together 1,000 singers of all ages and abilities.
Maria Dhimitri kept praying while churches were closed and priests abducted or shot. Almost every evening at 6, the sounds of the organ resonate in the brick Catholic church on Kavaja Street. The hymns may vary, but the organist, Maria Dhimitri, is always the same. It has been that way for nearly 23 years and could have been double that, Dhimitri said in a recent interview, if it had not been for a brutally enforced ban on religion in her country in southeastern Europe from 1967 to 1990.
Operation World Youth Day 2013 has begun. Bergoglio will be there and has tweeted the first messages ahead of his first international trip. The bond between Pope Francis and young people is growing ever stronger, especially ahead of the World Youth Day (WYD) that is going to be held in Rio de Janeiro between 23 and 28 July.
When Jesus says, therefore, that "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me," he is assuming that the sheep already know how completely he has earned their trust. The sheep hear his distinctive call and follow him, not just because he is an authority figure in their lives, but because he has been such a good shepherd to them.
The bishops of England and Wales had their first private meeting with Pope Francis today. The bishops are spending the week on retreat in the Villa Palazzola. They travelled to the Vatican today to attend the General Audience and afterwards were granted an impromptu private meeting with Pope Francis in the Paul VI Hall.
As faithful citizens—Catholic theologians, priests, sisters and social justice advocates—we join our bishops, the Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities USA in calling for common-sense reforms to address the epidemic of gun violence in our nation.
At age 80, Ms. Prater, who had been a stay-at-home housewife all her married life, sold her Seattle-area home, her car, and other belongings to build an orphanage in the Philippines. She became the unlikely helping hand for hundreds of orphaned children over the years, many of whom were abused or abandoned.
Soon after news of her death was made public, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, issued a short statement. "It was with sadness that we heard the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher, who served this country for many years"; "We pray for the repose of her soul and for the intentions of her family and all those who now mourn for her," he added.
An estimated 12 million Filipinos are working abroad in over 200 countries. Celeste Macaldo says she’s a “devout” Catholic who attended Mass every week until she landed a job as a caregiver in Lebanon five years ago. “For five years, I remember going to church to attend Mass only five times, and only on Christmas Eve,” she told ucanews.com.
Police are investigating the death of a young documentary maker who was sleeping rough in freezing temperatures to highlight the plight of the homeless. Lee Halpin, 26, had planned to spend a week living on the streets in his home city of Newcastle.
The Rev. Stephen Fichter understood just how dominant a role sports has assumed in the culture when a family told him they would be out of town Good Friday to Easter Sunday to attend their child’s volleyball tournament.
Remember this! God judges us by loving us! If I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves.
Open the doors of your hearts, lives and parishes in Holy Week. Pope Francis asks Catholics to live Holy Week in his first general audience....God did not wait for us to go to him, but he moved towards us, without calculation, without measures. This is how God is: he is always the first, he moves towards us.
To feed the hungry; to give drink to the thirsty; to clothe the naked; to visit and ransom the captive (prisoners); to shelter the homeless; to visit the sick; and to bury the dead. The scriptural text is Matthew 25:35-6
Pontiff urges crowd of thousands in St Peter's Square to lead simple lives as he marks start of Holy Week. Recalling the triumphant welcome into Jerusalem, Francis said Jesus "awakened so many hopes in the heart, above all among humble, simple, poor, forgotten people, those who don't matter in the eyes of the world".
Fr. Gustavo Larrazabal, an Argentine Claretian missionary, has been the publisher of the books of Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francisco, during all his years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. "Editorial Claretiana" Buenos Aires, belongs to Claret Publishing Group. The writings of this unknown Pope are now being made available to the rest of the world.
More than 2,000 join bishop for Mass on a mountaintop. Pilgrims take part in a Way of the Cross at the foot of the mountain. Nyi Soe is one of the 2,000 pilgrims who recently participated in a trek up a popular mountaintop shrine for a Mass in the run-up to Easter. The 185-meter climb up Cross Mountain in east-central Myanmar helps Catholic pilgrims reflect on Jesus´ passion.
