American actress encourages youth to embrace beliefs

World Youth Day is an opportunity for young people from around the world to embrace their beliefs and grow in love for humanity, says “High School Musical” actress Monique Coleman. “It is important for us to hold on to our beliefs, but not hold on so tightly that we ostracize other people and we cannot [...]

World Youth day organizers praise Police after security scare

The organizers of World Youth Day are praising the Spanish police after they arrested a Mexican chemistry student for allegedly plotting to gas anti-Pope protesters at this week’s Catholic youth festival in Madrid. “We condemn any type of violence. This man was a volunteer for World Youth Day, but is no longer such,” said spokesman [...]

Vatican ‘astonished’ by Croatian government blocking monastery transfer

The Vatican says it is astonished that Croatia’s government has blocked Pope Benedict’s decision to hand back ownership of a Croatian monastery to the Italian Benedictines. This “raises astonishment, both for the extraordinary decision and also because the Croatian Prime Minister had expressed her intention to address the problem in a spirit of collaboration,” Vatican [...]

Captive Chinese Priest keeps faith despite isolation and malnourishment.

Chinese officials have released a young Catholic priest nearly four months after plainclothes police detained him. He was held in isolation for nearly two months and suffered malnutrition as authorities tried to persuade him to endorse a church independent of the Catholic Church. Father Joseph Chen Hailong from the northern Hebei province has served in [...]