A Holy See delegation has visited Al-Azhar University, the prestigious Sunni Islam centre of learning in Cairo, after a number years of strained relationships between the University and the Vatican. The delegation also extended an invitation to the University’s Grand Imam to meet with the Pope. Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar University, […]

During his visit to Mexico, Pope Francis met prisoners in Ciudad Juarez – an occasion which was particularly important to him. To mark the visit, he said: “The problem of security is not resolved only by incarcerating; rather, it calls us to intervene by confronting the structural and cultural causes of insecurity that impact the

During last week’s Papal Visit to Mexico, Pope Francis shared his wisdom with those who had gathered to receive him: “Today the Lord continues to call you, he continues to draw you to him. He invites you to build a shrine. A shrine called ‘Nation’”. A celebration of the Papal Visit attended by 50,000 young people

A second deadline for forming a transitional government in South Sudan passed without President Kiir and his political rival Machar reaching an agreement. International mediators fear the country could become a failed state. Two years into South Sudan’s civil war, a transitional government was expected to end the conflict that has to date killed tens

In many rural areas of Africa, the market is not only a place for buying and selling, or carrying out commercial transactions. It is also a place characterised by strong social relations, becoming a meeting point for the scattered members of one’s family or native village. The large tree that often grows in the centre

According to the recent UNICEF report ‘Education Under Fire’, the conflicts in the Middle East have deprived more than 13 million children of the opportunity to attend school. The report, which examines the impact of conflict on education in six countries in the region, states that more than 8,850 schools have been rendered inoperable. The

Monsignor Juan José Aguirre Muños is Bishop of Bangassou, in the south-east of the Central African Republic. He has recently denounced the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a guerrilla group of Ugandan origin which has wreaked havoc on the area for years. In recent weeks, the LRA has intensified its attacks against civilians, causing the Comboni

A confidential report to the United Nations Security Council found that there have been attempts to smuggle weapons from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Rwanda to rebels in Burundi, where a political crisis threatens to spiral out of control. The report, produced by experts who monitor sanctions on the Democratic Republic of Congo, said

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Mexico between February 12-17. In addition to visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico City, Francis will also travel to Ciudad Juárez on the US border, and to Chiapas, one of the poorest regions in the country. Many priests in Mexico are subjected to threats and

In his pastoral letter for Ash Wednesday, the archbishop calls on the faithful to revive the Pondo ng Pinoy programme – a movement started by the Archdiocese of Manila, which advocates a lifestyle of giving and caring for the poor and disadvantaged, in the name of Jesus. Helping to feed children is a concrete act