Recent Editorial

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  Sino-Vatican deal significant despite religious repression

  Mar 28, 2019

  Six months ago, the Vatican and Beijing reached a provisional agreement over the appointment of bishops in China.

  
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  Praying for gender equality in Church

  Mar 22, 2019

  The leader of one of Germany’s most important female religious communities has called into question the Catholic Church’s exclusion of women from the ordained priesthood.

  
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  Christchurch mosque killer and his worldview

  Mar 22, 2019

  The monstrous act that saw 50 Muslims murdered at two mosques in Christchurch last Friday afternoon, and nearly the same number of worshippers injured (one of whom, a young child, has died), is unprecedented in New Zealand. And yet New Zealand’s response has matched both the dreadful novelty and scale of the crime.

  
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  Xi Jinping heads for Italy as doubts linger over MoU

  Mar 22, 2019

  President Xi Jinping is visiting Italy, Monaco and France between Mar 21 and 26. In Italy, in particular, he is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which offers the Italian government as a partner to support the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

  
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  The Meddling Kingdom’s threat to democracy

  Mar 16, 2019

  Over the next six months, national elections will be held in Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and India, while a mid-term ballot is slated for the Philippines.

  
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  Clarifying the fate of the underground Church and the Patriotic Association

  Mar 16, 2019

  From March 20 to 23, President Xi Jinping will be in Italy. Rumours are already circulating in China of a possible meeting with Pope Francis.

  
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  China, nearly 50,000 baptisms in the Catholic Church in 2018

  Mar 09, 2019

  The "Faith" Institute reports that last year more than 48,000 Catholics were baptized. A partial figure, which, however, seems to mark a trend reversal when compared to the analyses that claimed a reduction in the celebrations within Chinese communities between 2010 and 2014.

  
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  Vatican-China deal must be implemented

  Mar 09, 2019

  Speaking at a conference on Vatican diplomacy, the Holy See’s Secretary of State stressed that it is now important “to make the China deal for the appointment of bishops work in practice.”

  
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  The Vatican summit is over, what’s next?

  Mar 07, 2019

  The question often comes from representatives of survivors’ organisations who were very active during the summit. At its conclusion, many expressed disappointment at the apparent lack of the “concrete measures” that Pope Francis called for in his opening talk but did not deliver in his closing address.

  
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  Cardinal Gracias emphasises collegiality to address sex abuse

  Mar 01, 2019

  Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay called for the “entire Church” to “act decisively to prevent abuse from occurring in the future and to do whatever possible to foster healing for victims.”