Blaj, Romania | AFP | Ion, a 72-year-old retiree from Romania’s minority Roma community, says he is used to living without rights. “No matter where we go, to the town hall, to the police or to school, doors get closed,” says the former construction site worker, who lives on the outskirts …
Read More »Pope kisses Machar, Kiir feet
Pope hopes for S.Sudan peace as leaders end Vatican retreat Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis called Thursday for warring South Sudanese factions to respect the latest armistice after a two-day Vatican retreat aimed at shoring up the fragile peace. “I express my heartfelt hope that hostilities …
Read More »LENT: Pope denounces deceptiveness of ‘culture of appearance’
Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis denounced the deceptiveness of “the culture of appearance” in a ceremony marking Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter when Catholics traditionally fast. “Earthly realities fade away like dust in the wind,” said the pope at the Basilica …
Read More »Vatican to open archives of WWII pope Pius XII in 2020
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis announced Monday that the Vatican will open the secret archives of the era of Pius XII in March next year, which could shed light on the Catholic Church’s actions during World War II. Researchers have long sought to examine the archives …
Read More »Cardinal Marx admits Church files on paedophile priests ‘destroyed’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | A top Catholic cardinal admitted Saturday that Church files on priests who sexually abused children were destroyed or never even drawn up, a move which allowed paedophiles to prey on others. “Files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible …
Read More »Pope’s guidelines for concrete change over sex abuse
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday handed the world’s top Catholic bishops guidelines to shape the debate at a landmark Vatican summit on tackling clerical sex abuse. “As a help, I would share with you some important criteria formulated by the various episcopal commissions and …
Read More »Pope visit for Episcopal Conference fails to materialize
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Pope Francis will not be coming to Uganda this year. This is according to the Uganda Episcopal Conference Secretary-General Msgr John Kauta. The Roman Catholic Church, through President Museveni, had invited the Holy Father for the golden jubilee celebration of the Symposium of Episcopal …
Read More »Archbishop Lwanga says Papal visit not yet confirmed, no budget
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has dismissed reports that he requested for sh9 billion from the government to prepare for the second visit of Pope Francis in Uganda. He said any statement linking him to such a request is defamatory. …
Read More »Francis in Arabia, the Muslim-friendly pope
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | When Francis becomes the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula on Sunday, he takes another important step in his efforts to build bridges with Islam and confirms interreligious dialogue as a keystone of his papacy. In the long, complicated and often bloody …
Read More »Pope touts ‘Click to Pray’ app ahead of World Youth Day
Accompany Pope Francis in his Click To Pray profile. Download the app ? pic.twitter.com/m3Wt6jWwoK — Click To Pray (@clicktoprayapp) January 20, 2019 Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday recommended a praying app called “Click to Pray” ahead of a World Youth Day festival in Panama …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price