Singapore Introduces New Family Support Measures: With the country’s fertility rate falling to a record low of just 0.87 children per woman, Singapore is introducing a major new support package for families. From 2027, the government will provide nearly S$70,000 (about US$55,000) in support for each Singaporean child from birth to age 17. The package includes cash payments, childcare credits, healthcare and education support.
Two pastors in South Korea have been fined 1 million won (about €620) each after loudly preaching on a domestic flight from Jeju to Seoul. They shouted that passengers would “go to hell” if they did not believe in Jesus, while one moved around the cabin. They continued despite instructions from the cabin crew to stop. A Seoul court found that their conduct constituted a disturbance under South Korea’s Aviation Security Act.
The court said the 64-year-old pastor stood in the aisle despite repeated attempts by crew members to stop him and shouted at passengers, “You will go to hell if you don’t believe in Jesus.”
Pope Francis broke with Vatican tradition by putting women into positions long reserved in practice for clerics. Leo XIV is now turning that breakthrough into routine. In little more than a year, he has confirmed women appointed by his predecessor, promoted others and named numerous women to positions across the Vatican. Italian media have noticed. They repeatedly reach for the colour pink: the Vatican “turns pink,” while headlines speak of a “Vaticano in rosa” and “nomine rosa” — “pink appointments.” Here are the many women Leo XIV has appointed, promoted or confirmed so far. Raffaella Petrini - Governor of Vatican City Francis appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini president of the Governorate of Vatican City State and president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State shortly before his death. Leo XIV did more than simply leave her there. In November 2025, he modified Vatican City’s Fundamental Law so that the presidency of the Pontifical Commission no longer had to be held by …მეტი
Uh, Matthew 16: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Guess Francis didn't have the Petrine office after all..
When the generation of the ’68ers passes away, the unfounded, one-sided attitudes against Latin and Gregorian chant will pass away as well, Cardinal Robert Sarah told IlGiornale.it on August 27. Benedict XVI’s liberalization of the Traditional Latin Mass had a positive and even corrective influence on abuses in the celebration of the Novus Ordo, Cardinal Sarah said. “Many priests testify that discovering the Extraordinary Form helped them to celebrate better.” Furthermore, the faithful could choose which form corresponded more closely to the fostering of the faith. “But all of this was brought to an abrupt end by Traditionis Custodes while the Pope Emeritus was still alive.” Francis’ restrictions on the Latin Mass were “neither a wise nor a respectful choice.” Cardinal Sarah added that access to “ritual forms that have existed for centuries can never be artificially restricted by decrees.” Without referring explicitly to the Novus Ordo, Sarah noted that a rite that did not serve the …მეტი
Saint Simon Catholic Church in New Brunswick, Canada, has been destroyed by fire. Built in 1917 and described as New Brunswick’s tallest wooden church, it was engulfed in flames early Monday morning. Authorities determined that the fire was deliberately set, and a 68-year-old man has been charged with arson. The investigation remains ongoing.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court has acquitted Yona Simcha Schreiber, 36, of criminal responsibility for a violent attack on a French Catholic nun in April. The court accepted psychiatric evidence that he was psychotic at the time of the assault. He could neither understand the nature of his actions nor control them, the court ruled. He was ordered to undergo compulsory psychiatric hospitalization for up to six years. The attack occurred on Mount Zion, near King David’s Tomb outside Jerusalem’s Old City. Security footage showed Schreiber running toward the 48-year-old nun from behind and knocking her violently to the ground, causing her head to strike the stone pavement. Schreiber initially walked away before returning and kicking the nun while she remained on the ground. He also assaulted a passerby who attempted to intervene. The victim is a researcher at the Dominican-run École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem. Schreiber is a resident of Peduel, an illegal settlement …მეტი
Today, Pope Leo XIV has approved the election of Sharbel Ghattas Maroun as the new Maronite Catholic archbishop of Damascus. A Lebanese-born priest, he has spent much of his ministry in the United States. Archbishop Maroun, 64, was elected by the Synod of Bishops of the Maronite Church. He succeeds Archbishop Samir Nassar, 76, whose resignation was accepted by the synod. Since 2020, Maroun has served as protosyncellus, a senior position comparable to vicar general, of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles. Born January 6, 1962, in Kfarselwan, Lebanon, Maroun briefly worked for Crédit Libanais bank. Older Brother, a Lebanese Forces Fighter, Helped Maroun During Civil War In 1975, Lebnen, the father, and the eldest brother Nassif joined the Kataeb (Phalange) party and took up arms to defend their home. The family's house was confiscated and not recovered for 40 years. In 1981 Lebnen's local group formally joined the Lebanese Forces militia. In 1983, during the Mountain …მეტი
LiveLeak A Quran-burning demonstration in the #Netherlands sparked a large Islamic counter-protest in the city center of Arnhem. A number of the counter-protesters chanted jihadist slogans while police monitored the crowd. Follow main channel -> LiveLeak Follow private channel -> LiveLeak Private
Argentine newspaper La Nación reports that Pope Leo XIV’s planned visit to Argentina is shaping up as a strong continuation of Pope Francis’s pastoral priorities and style, with a particular emphasis on the poor, workers, prisoners and marginalized communities. The likely agenda includes a meeting with grassroots and social movements, a visit to Villa Devoto prison, and a large gathering with young people at San Lorenzo’s football stadium in Buenos Aires. All three have strong symbolic connections to Francis. As Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, Francis maintained close relationships with poor neighborhoods, prisoners and grassroots movements. San Lorenzo was also famously his football club. The stadium is located near the Padre Ricciardelli neighborhood, where Bergoglio frequently carried out pastoral work. According to the provisional schedule, Leo XIV would arrive in Buenos Aires from Uruguay on Sunday, November 8, spend several days in Argentina, potentially travel to Córdoba on November …მეტი
Pagan practices and imagery must never be allowed in the Catholic faith. Unfortunately, V2 did away with that and now inculturation is highly emphasized and widely practiced.
Mother of Mercy Chapel in Columbus, Ohio, was already a beautiful Romanesque-style church, but later 20th-century alterations had diminished the coherence of its sanctuary. In 2025, William Heyer Architect replaced the small modern forward altar with a hand-carved wooden freestanding altar better suited to the character of the historic interior. The main intervention was the expansion of Rudolph Scheffler’s 1950s Christ the King apse mural. New saints and sacred symbols now occupy previously bare areas around the original composition.
Before and After: Mother of Mercy Chapel at St. Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, Ohio
A Mexican bishop has issued a decree restricting laypeople from assuming roles proper to ordained ministers in liturgical celebrations. Bishop Carlos Enrique Samaniego López of Texcoco issued the decree on 10 August, citing “irregular practices” that distort the priestly ministry and the sacred character of liturgical acts. It prohibits former seminarians, religious, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and other faithful not instituted in the stable ministry of acolyte from presiding over celebrations of the Word, funeral rites, sacramentals or other liturgical acts proper to ordained ministers. It also forbids non-clerics from wearing the alb or “any sacred ornament or vestment reserved uniquely and exclusively to the clergy”, both within and outside liturgical celebrations. The bishop expressed concern about celebrations held in halls, gardens and other unapproved locations by “pseudo ordained ministers” and “celebrants”. “I ask all the Christian faithful of the Diocese of Texcoco …მეტი
Tucho and others of the same ilk
#Canada, Montreal. A group of Muslims blocked an entire street to pray, preventing traffic.
A Quran-burning demonstration in the #Netherlands sparked a large Islamic counter-protest in the city center of Arnhem. A number of the counter-protesters chanted jihadist slogans while police monitored the crowd.
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