National Catholic Reporter

The Independent News Source

Global

Philippine government and rebels sign peace agreement

The government of President Benigno Aquino and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a landmark peace agreement Oct. 16 aimed at ending four decades of conflict on the Philippines’ southern island of...

More

Bhutan bans religious activities ahead of election

Political leaders in the small Buddhist nation of Bhutan have announced a nearly six-month ban on all public religious activities ahead of its upcoming elections, citing the Himalayan nation’s constitution...

More

Funeral scheduled for Catholic nurse who was victim of radio hoax

 | 

The funeral of the Catholic nurse who committed suicide after falling victim to a hoax call in London is scheduled for Monday at her hometown in Shirva, Karnataka, India.

The body of Jacintha Saldanha was flown to Mangalore from United Kingdom, accompanied by her husband, Benedict Barboza, her daughter, Lisha, 14, and her son, Junal, 16.

Saldanha's coffin was transferred to an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.

Her funeral is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time Monday at at Our Lady of Health Church in Shirva, her family said.

Family of London nurse who was victim to hospital prank awaits return of remains

 | 

A relative of Jacintha Saldhana, a nurse in London who allegedly committed suicide after a radio show prank call, said Wednesday the family has received no word yet on when her remains will be released to the family for burial.

"We are not sure when they will let us have the body and when we can have the funeral," said the relative, who asked not to be named.

Saldhana was found dead Dec. 7 at the nurses' compound at central London's King Edward VII Hospital. 

English, Welsh bishops voice opposition to bill to redefine marriage

Catholic bishops in England and Wales said they strongly oppose a bill to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark -- the president and vice president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales -- criticized moves to legalize gay marriage as "shambolic" and urged lawmakers to vote against a forthcoming bill.

Christianity in Britain losing ground to secularism, Islam

 | 

New figures from the 2011 Census show that the number of people who identify as Christians in England and Wales has fallen by 4 million in the last 10 years.

The data show numbers fell from 37.3 million in 2001 to 33 million last year.

The statistics came as the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, claimed that English cathedral congregations are growing dramatically, challenging the claim made by secularists that the Church of England is fading in Britain.

Pages

Vatican consistory upends meeting of Asian bishops

A gathering of Asian bishops originally scheduled for November had to be rescheduled after the Vatican announced it would hold a consistory to create six new cardinals in that timeframe.

More

Wisconsin priest named auxiliary bishop in Bolivia

Pope Benedict XVI has named a Wisconsin-born missionary, Fr. Robert H. Flock, to be an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Flock, who will celebrate his 56th birthday Nov. 4, has served at Santa Cruz Parish in the Archdiocese of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, since 1988. The parish was founded by priests from the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis., in the 1950s.

The...

More

Peruvian diocese, first in South America, celebrates 475 years

When Jose Venero Villafuerte was 5 years old, his mother took him to see the statue of Our Lord of the Earthquakes for the first time.

"In this moment my path to God was opened," said...

More

Sisters' Stories; read more

NCR Email Alerts

 

In This Issue

May 10-23, 2013

May10-cover.jpg

Not all of our content is online. Subscribe to receive all the news and features you won't find anywhere else.