A DECISION to refuse plans to convert a former Cradley Heath church hall into a mosque has been overturned at appeal. Sandwell Council blocked the bid by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association to convert the old St Luke’s Church Hall in School Street into a mosque complete with a small dome […]
The Church has to carry out a soul-searching exercise to understand why people voted for divorce, the Church’s Pro-Vicar Mgr Anton Gouder, has told The Times. He also insisted that the statement issued by the bishops on Saturday was a call for unity to work in favour of the family. Mgr […]
Editorial: The outcome of Saturday’s referendum, when the majority of voters supported the formal introduction of divorce, and what the bishops had to say in their note issued just as voting stopped show that the Church in Malta is faced with a number of significant and urgent challenges that cannot […]
By Thameen Kheetan AMMAN – Jordanian members of the Greek Orthodox Church have renewed calls for Patriarch Theophilus III to step down and for Arabising the leadership of the Greek-led church. In a protest held outside the Amman archdiocese on Sunday evening, hundreds of Orthodox Christians accused the Greek patriarch […]
By John Blake, CNN (CNN) – A frail man sits in chains inside a dank, cold prison cell. He has escaped death before but now realizes that his execution is drawing near. “I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come,” […]
The Bishops of Malta and Gozo yesterday expressed their sorrow to those who during the run up to the referendum may have felt wronged by the words or actions of members of the clergy, and similarly professed unconditional forgiveness to all those the Church feels may have insulted it. “We […]
Mladic’s capture signals that justice will eventually catch up with mass murderers SERBIA has finally “captured” the Serbian mass murderer Ratko Mladic. One of the three Butchers of Balkans — the other two being the late Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic — Mladic eluded international justice for 17 years although […]
By Sami Aboudi, Reuters CAIRO (Reuters) – Mohammed Fathi worked his brush gently over an icon of Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, removing soot from its surface inside a church gutted in an attack by Islamist militants this month. “It takes a lot of careful work to do that,” Fathi […]
On this issue we completely and whole heartedly agree with the Pope. MILAN. Jan 2011 — In a forceful appeal for religious freedom, Pope Benedict XVI urged Pakistan to repeal contentious blasphemy laws as he called on governments worldwide to do more to enable Christians to practice their faith without […]
(CNN) — Police in Serbia have arrested former Serbian military commander Ratko Mladic, the highest-ranking war crimes suspect still at large from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Serbia’s president announced Thursday. “Today we arrested Ratko Mladic,” Serbian President Boris Tadic said. Tadic said Mladic was detained in Serbia. The […]
Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando (MP) said today that rejection of divorce at the referendum on Saturday would mean that ‘spiritual terrorism’ and ‘brainwashing’ would have prevailed. Speaking at a rowdy discussion on divorce organised by MaltaToday, Dr Pullicino Orlando said the Church and the ‘no’ movement were persisting in scaremongering. Rejection […]
A quiet reformation that may have profound effects on Roman Catholic discipline concerning divorce and remarriage is gaining ground among U.S. Catholics. It is being led by theologians, canon lawyers and even concerned bishops. The latest arguments for change include a sharp criticism of Roman Catholic annulment procedures by the […]
If you are reading this article today … that means the world was not destroyed yesterday, as predicted by 89-year-old Harold Camping, an evangelical Christian. Well, he had already got it wrong in 1994, so maybe he has sort of got used to getting it wrong. According to some minority […]
Filmmaker Terrence Malick’s latest, “The Tree of Life,” has been alternately described as a “tone poem” delving into issues about faith, family and forgiveness and a “coming of age story about the universe,” so it’s understandable that Monday’s Cannes press event got a little heavy. The movie tells the story […]
European and American experts say changing Malta’s divorce ban would show weakness to radical Muslims, who could capitalize on the island’s drift toward secularism to push for Islamic laws. “Forced secularism is a gift to the radical Muslims,” said Stephen Schwartz, a U.S. author and researcher on the Islamic world. […]
By Qasim Rashid The case of the missing Messiah is a mystery that has intrigued countless minds through the ages. Pope Innocent III predicted Christ’s return and doomsday in 1284. William Miller made his call in October, 1844. Alexander Dowie launched his campaign at the turn of the 20th century. Edgar […]
The Holy Quran says about the Judgment Day, “Men ask thee concerning the Hour. Say, “The knowledge of it is with Allah alone.’ And what would make thee know that the hour may be nigh?” (Al Quran 33:64) But Mr. Fitzpatrick predicts the doomsday, not in 1000 years, or in 30 […]
The National Education Ministry’s plan to reconstruct the curriculum of religious education for students calls for the attention of all stakeholders, particularly because religious education has played and always plays an important role in the creation of an Indonesian identity. As we live in a diverse country, students should learn […]
I have come about to write this article after much thought and prayer and not without spiritual and psychological anguish, even at this very instant that I write. Over the last few months leading to the referendum, as an official minister of the Catholic Church I have been involuntarily made […]