BY removing God from the public arena, Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron said other fundamental rights and values had become endangered. When a society and legislation decided who lived and died, that land was morally and legally compromised, he said. In an interview with Zenit, the American prelate reflected on his prayer for his nation amid a pandemic and ... Read More »
Author Archives: Zenit
Bishop Robert Barron is urging Catholics to take advantage of extra time to take up faith fully
IN the midst of this global pandemic, Bishop Robert Barron says: “Turn this time of waiting into an evangelical opportunity…” In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Zenit, the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, made this suggestion, as he reflected on various ways faithful can reconnect spiritually during this dramatic time. In the ... Read More »
‘Courageous and faithful’ to the end, Italian missionary in Arabia Bishop Camillo Ballin dies at 76
A BISHOP, who died on Easter Sunday after a lifetime of ministry in some of the most difficult places in which to be a Christian, has been praised for his “courageous and dynamic apostolate in the heart of Islam”. Comboni Missionary Bishop Camillo Ballin, who died aged 75 after on a long illness on April 12, ministered across the Middle ... Read More »
Pope Francis is asking you to share Christ with others and pray for the gift of conversion this Lent
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20) THIS year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind ... Read More »
Missionary sisters expect miracles in Papua New Guinea, the ‘land of the unexpected’
WHEN the villagers of impoverished Bereina need to quell their famine, they reach for the noxious betel nut. In the town of Bereina, in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea, the addictive seed, which is prohibited in Australia, is often the only food source for the local villagers. It is an unfathomable sight for Sr Anna Pigozzo, a missionary ... Read More »
Three million children face starvation, disease and displacement from South Asia floods
SOUTH Asia was battered by more than a week of monsoon rains, leading to major flooding in three countries and affecting 3.2 million children. But the monsoon season is just starting and the region is teetering on the edge of a humanitarian crisis. More than 150 people are confirmed dead but hundreds more remain missing and the death toll is ... Read More »
Q&A with Andrea Bocelli
Italy’s most famous musician sat down with Zenit for a chat about his childhood and why his mother saved his life by refusing an abortion. Q: You were born in Lajatico, a small village on the hills, near Pisa, in the Valdera region. You spent your childhood among olive groves and fields in the wonderful land of Tuscany. Why today, when ... Read More »
Prayer can work miracles, pope says
PRAYER can bring miracles and it keeps hearts from growing hard, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass on January 12 in the Casa Santa Marta. “It’s the prayer of the faithful that brings change to the Church,” the Pope said. “It’s not us popes, bishops or priests who carry the Church forward, but the saints.” The Pope focused his ... Read More »
Vatican spokesman offers caution about alleged letter to Pope
REPORTS on a private letter allegedly signed by 13 Cardinals to Pope Francis have caused unnecessary “disruption” to the worldwide meeting in Rome, director of the Vatican Press Office said. Fr Federico Lombardi, the official spokesman for the Holy See, offered words of caution with a statement clarifying the letter, which was leaked on Italian publication L’Espresso. “As we are aware,” the spokesman ... Read More »