News in JPIC News

Law and Good Ecclesial Government: The Vademecum for cases of sexual abuse and the reform of canonical criminal law

The Vademecum on some points of procedure in the treatment of cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by clerics was long overdue. Many bishops and religious superiors in past years had found themselves in great difficulty when faced with the emergence of allegations and subsequent scandals involving sexual abuse by members of the clergy, and were unable to act decisively and clearly.

My Father was a Stranger: Biblical Teaching on Migrants

Church activist shot dead in the Philippines

Zara Alvarez, a church worker from Negros province in the central Philippines, signs a manifesto signifying her commitment to work for human rights on Aug. 22, 2019. Alvarez was shot dead in Bacolod City on Aug. 17.

Police remove Christ statue, crosses in southern India

Police and revenue officials have removed a statue of Jesus Christ and 14 crosses from a Christian burial place in southern India's Karnataka state following allegations of Christians encroaching on government land.

Nigeria divided: when poverty and ignorance kill

Nigeria’s bishops have launched peaceful protests against the ‘brutal killing of innocent Nigerians’. Two prominent Nigerian Catholics argue that the root of the current spate of killings is not religious difference but the cynical manipulation of Islam by a corrupt elite.

UN human rights body to probe Philippine killings

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted on July 11 to set up an investigation into killings in the Philippines that have been linked to the government's war on drugs.

Pax Christi's Pat Gaffney tells what it takes to make peace happen

A commitment to justice and peace has long been one of the hallmarks of how the Catholic Church operates on a global, national and local stage. But work for justice has always tended to receive more emphasis than work for peace

Human dignity is in danger. In 2019 we must stand as one to survive

Persecution, censorship and environmental destruction are on the rise – but resistance is possible. What does it mean to be human? That question sits at the core of human rights. To be human has specific implications: human self-awareness and the actions taken to uphold human dignity – these are what gives the concept of humanity a special meaning.

Catholics call Assam church attack a hate crime

Church officials in India want police to conduct a thorough probe into an attack on a Catholic church in Assam, saying it could be part of a plan to create religious-based divisions in the northeastern state ahead of Christmas. Parishioners of St. Thomas Church in Chapatoli, in Dibrugarh Diocese said they found their church vandalized on Dec. 15.

Cardinal Tagle: Global Pact for Migration is a source of hope

Every day news reports point to a world that is fracturing due to fear, prejudice and hate. We seem to forget the Golden Rule that is at the root of many of our religions and cultures: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” When we see refugees fleeing wars or migrants arriving in our countries looking for a better life, a raw human instinct pushes us to close our doors in their faces, to close our eyes and close our hearts.

Catholic aid charity Cafod appoints new director

Christine Allen, currently director of policy and public affairs at Christian Aid, will take up her new post at Cafod in the spring. Mr Bain has delayed his retirement until then, although a Mass of thanksgiving to mark his retirement is planned for 5 December at St George's Cathedral.

Philippine-Mindanao nuns warn of 'dangerous times' for missionaries

Religious missionaries working in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao continue to live in "dangerous and dark times," in which justice is hard to come by, according to a group of Catholic nuns.

My Father was a Stranger: Biblical Teaching on Migrants

Looking back at the past, we acknowledge that there is nearly no region or nation which, in its history, has not seen the immigration of people moving though in caravans or even entire ethnic populations arriving with the intention to settle in lands distant from their homeland, considering them oases of refuge.

Combating a cycle of despair

A young girl, almost as soon as she is old enough to walk, goes out to work in the fields with her mother and sibling. It is unrelentingly hot and the work is grindingly monotonous. In tilling and hoeing a small patch of unforgiving land, the family expend more calories than they will ever gain back from any produce they manage to grow.

Pakistan acquits Asia Bibi on death row

Pakistan's Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence for blasphemy of Catholic woman Asia Bibi and ordered her release from prison. The mother of five was sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with a Muslim farm worker. A three-member court bench comprising Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan announced the verdict on Oct. 31.

China bans minors in Tibet from religious events

Beijing tightens screws to keep young generations de-rooted from traditional culture while flooding province with Han Chinese. Over the years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has adopted various means to instill the idea in native Tibetans that their traditional culture and religion are backwards, barbaric and based on superstitious beliefs.

World faith leaders eye 'middle path' to combat extremism

 Religious leaders, scholars and activists from around the globe ended a three-day interfaith forum in Indonesia on Aug. 16 with a message for world leaders to use a "middle path" to overcome poverty, discrimination, and extremism. Values such as goodness, tolerance, justice, solidarity, charity, and equality were the central theme of the 7th World Peace Forum in Jakarta attended by 250 people from 43 countries. 

Philippines:Boracay natives lose homes on island paradise

The island's rehabilitation, however, is also affecting longtime residents like Estelita. She and her family are being driven away from the only place they know as home. "Where will we go? We were born here. This is all we got," she said upon receiving a notice of eviction from authorities. 

Indian state 'treats Christians as terrorists'

Catholic magazine "Famiglia Cristiana" compares Salvini to the devil

The magazine's front cover lit up social media in Italy soon after its release and has sparked a huge debate with some heavily criticising the cover headline while others have praised the editor for taking a courageous stand. Mr Salvini replied to Famiglia Cristiana via Twitter writing that while he is not a "perfect" Christian, "I do not think I deserve that."