Tag Archives: Religion

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia on Thursday ordered the reopening of its border with Qatar to Muslim pilgrims, a move which Doha said was welcome but too little to heal relations between the feuding Gulf neighbours. The Salwa border crossing, also known as Abu Samrah, a key passage …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Priests should not be forced to report child sexual abuse revealed in the confessional, top Australian Catholics said Tuesday, adding they would rather risk jail than break the sacramental seal. The comments follow a national inquiry set up by the government into institutional child sexual …

  Gaza City, Palestinian Territories | AFP |  Egypt reopened its border with the Gaza Strip Monday for the first time in months to allow Muslims from the blockaded Palestinian enclave to travel to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage, authorities said. “The crossing was reopened this morning for four days …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Churches preached peace on Sunday in Mathare, a Nairobi slum that has been hit by days of violent demonstrations since last week’s disputed presidential vote, but it was opposition leader Raila Odinga the people were desperate to hear from. Odinga had been silent since the …

Rome, Italy | AFP | A top cardinal due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow this month says he will be seeking to clear the way for Pope Francis to make a historic visit to Russia. Pietro Parolin, the number two in the Vatican hierarchy and its de-facto foreign minister, …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | The Mormon church excommunicated one of its senior leaders Tuesday, without providing a reason for the rare dismissal. The removal of James Hamula as a “general authority” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the first time a top leader had …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | The Turkish government on Sunday strongly defended a plan to let state-approved clerics conduct marriage ceremonies, rejecting fierce criticism that this would undermine the modern republic’s secular foundations. Turkey is mainly Muslim but officially is a secular state. Under its current laws, even religiously observant couples …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Sunday declared Sudan the 39th province of the worldwide Anglican Communion, six years after the predominantly Christian south gained independence from the north. The Anglican church in Sudan, a majority Muslim country, has been administered from South Sudan since the …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s Supreme Court Monday confirmed a ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses, labelled by authorities as an “extremist organisation”. “The Russian Supreme Court has decided to reject the appeal of the organisation against its ban,” the court, quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency, said in its decision. In April, …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Monday blasted Israel’s two-day closure of a Jerusalem holy site, following a deadly attack, as a “crime against humanity.” The Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, includes the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. It is venerated …