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Church leaders in Thailand are preparing for the 2023 synod on synodality, as the Vatican released a preparatory document for review by dioceses over the next six months. Francis Xavier Kriengsak Cardinal Kovithavanij of Bangkok has announced that the archdiocese will start next month the first phase of the process, which will involve consultation meetings and reflection sessions. He said an online “pre-synodal” gathering will later be held to come up with proposals to be submitted to the Thai bishops’ conference.

There have been at least 95 reported incidents of vandalism of Catholic churches across the United States since May 2020, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty. Incidents include arson, the destruction of statues, and the defacement of church buildings and gravestones with swastikas and anti-Catholic language.  “Whether those who committed these acts were troubled individuals crying out for help or agents of hate seeking to intimidate, the attacks are signs of a

With time running out to rescue civilians fleeing the Taliban, Afghan Christians and others whose names appear on U.S. government lists of qualified evacuees are being turned away at the airport in Kabul, representatives of aid organizations and others told CNA Wednesday. “I was told by contacts from various groups working to rescue those still in danger in Afghanistan—who must remain anonymous — that the State Department at least at a certain point was not implementing the lists that they

Pope Francis said on Wednesday that hypocrisy within the Church is “particularly detestable.” Speaking at the general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Aug. 25, the pope underlined that hypocritical behavior damaged Church unity. “Hypocrisy in the Church is particularly detestable, and unfortunately there is hypocrisy in the Church, and there are many hypocritical Christians and ministers. We should never forget the Lord’s words: ‘Let what you say be simply Yes or No; anything more than this comes

Religious sisters from the Missionaries of Charity and 14 disabled children from an orphanage in Afghanistan arrived safely on Wednesday at Rome’s international airport. A Catholic priest and five sisters from the order founded by Mother Teresa arrived on one of two evacuation flights from Kabul that landed in Rome on Aug. 25 carrying a total of 277 people. Fr. Giovanni Scalese, the ecclesiastical superior of the Catholic mission in Afghanistan, also arrived on the flight. He spent eight years in Kabul,

Renewed violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has resulted in the killing of civilians is a cause of concern, Catholic bishops in the central African nation said Thursday, appealing for an end to the bloodshed. In an April 8 statement, members of the Standing Committee of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo said, “War is the mother of all miseries, it affects all spheres of society and compromises the future of our children.” “To those who