Staff Reporter, Author at Catholic Herald

Staff Reporter

Saint of the week: Giles of Assisi (April 23)

April 20, 2017

Begging for cloth Blessed Giles of Assisi was a wealthy man who fell on his knees beforeSt Francis and begged to be accepted into his company in 1209. St Francis turned to his other two followers and said: “See here a good brother whom Almighty God has sent to us.” Giles dedicated his fortune to

EWTN chief to advise the Vatican

April 20, 2017

Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, has been named by Pope Francis as an adviser to the Vatican Secretariat for Communications. The Vatican released the names of 13 appointments last week. Also included in the list are Graham Ellis, deputy director of BBC Radio, and Fr James Martin of America magazine.

Pope to visit Egypt despite terrorist attacks

April 20, 2017

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Egypt next week despite attacks on churches that left at least 45 people dead. Greg Burke, Vatican spokesman, told Catholic News Service: “The Pope’s trip to Egypt proceeds as scheduled.” Francis will meet state and religious leaders during his visit to Cairo next Friday and Saturday.

Cause of Fr Hamel is officially opened

April 20, 2017

The archdiocese of Rouen has opened a formal inquiry into the Cause for beatification of Fr Jacques Hamel, who was killed while celebrating Mass last July. Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen announced the opening of the inquiry at the end of his Chrism Mass. Fr Hamel was killed at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church near Rouen when, police

Pope to faithful: be instruments of Christ

April 20, 2017

Jesus is the Risen Shepherd who takes upon his shoulders “our brothers and sisters crushed by evil in all its varied forms”, Pope Francis has said. With tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square, the Pope urged Christians to be instruments of Christ’s outreach to refugees and migrants, victims of war and

Beware secular totalitarianism, says Bishop Egan

April 20, 2017

Bishop Philip Egan has called for Catholics to “lead the new evangelisation of our land” in a hard-hitting Easter sermon at Portsmouth cathedral. Bishop Egan said “two dangerous ideologies” were battling for power in our time, just as communism and fascism had fought each other in the 20th century. The first ideology is “fundamentalism, religion

Theresa May: stand up for religious freedom

April 20, 2017

Theresa May has made a plea for religious tolerance in her first Easter message as Prime Minister. In a video message released just two days before she called a general election, May said: “We should be confident about the role that Christianity has to play in the lives of people in our country, and we

US archbishop appointed nuncio to Great Britain

April 20, 2017

A 72-year-old American archbishop who has served as nuncio to Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the Philippines has been appointed the Holy See’s ambassador to Great Britain. He replaces Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who earlier this year was transferred to the Secretariat of State, the Vatican department responsible for relations with states. For the last six years Archbishop