RELIGION - The African Mirror

Jan

22

2024

Ethiopians celebrate “Timket” festival that marks Jesus’ baptism

THOUSANDS of Ethiopian Orthodox followers gathered in the capital Addis Ababa on Friday and Saturday to celebrate Epiphany, also called Timket, a religious festival commemorating Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. The annual festival is recognised by UNESCO as an important intangible cultural heritage. Followers marched from churches to Jan Meda, an open field in the capital, while priests carried tents called tabots, replicas of the Ark of the Covenant that is sacred in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the world's oldest churches. Students sang hymns as youth ran ahead of the tabots to cover a street with red…

Jun

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Purification rite in St. Peter’s after naked man desecrated pope’s altar

RELIGION

A special purification rite was held at the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica after it was desecrated by a man who stood on it naked to protest against the war in Ukraine. The prayer service, known as a penitential rite and required by Canon law, was led by the basilica's archpriest, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. The Polish man stripped off his clothes and stood on the altar as the basilica was closing on Thursday. He had an inscription painted on his back reading: "Save children of Ukraine". Vatican guards handed him over to Italian police, who detained him and ordered him expelled…

May

11

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Rare day at Vatican as two popes share stage

RELIGION

IT was a rare day at the Vatican as two popes shared the limelight in St Peter's Square - Pope Francis and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Tawadros, dressed in black robes, was the guest of honour at Francis' general audience in a rainy St. Peter's Square. The two sat near each other and delivered a joint blessing at the end. Tawadros, 70, is at the Vatican to mark the 50th anniversary of the first meeting between a Roman pope and a Coptic pope which took place between their respective predecessors, Shenouda III and Paul…

Apr

17

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope Francis calls ‘insinuations’ against John Paul II unfounded

RELIGION

POPE Francis rejected as offensive and unfounded what he called insinuations by the brother of a Vatican schoolgirl who went missing 40 years ago about one of his predecessors as pontiff, Saint John Paul II. Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican usher, failed to return home on June 22, 1983, following a music lesson in Rome. She was 15 at the time and lived with her family inside the Vatican. Her disappearance is one of Italy's most enduring mysteries. The case entered a new chapter on Tuesday when her brother Pietro met with Vatican chief prosecutor Alessandro Diddi, whom Francis has…

Apr

13

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope wants light shed on 40-year-old mystery of missing Vatican girl

RELIGION

ONE of Italy's most enduring mysteries, the disappearance of a Vatican schoolgirl 40 years ago, entered a new chapter when her brother met with a Vatican investigator whom Pope Francis has given free rein to get to the bottom of the case. Over the past four decades tombs have been opened, bones have been exhumed from forgotten grave sites and conspiracy theories have abounded in attempts to determine just what became of Emanuela Orlandi. The daughter of a Vatican usher whose family lived in the Vatican, Orlandi, then 15, failed to return home on June 22, 1983, following a music…

Apr

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Poles march to defend Pope John Paul II against abuse cover-up accusations

RELIGION

AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA and KUBA STEZYCKI THOUSANDS of Poles marched through Warsaw and other cities to show their support for the late Pope John Paul II in the face of what they said were false allegations that he concealed child abuse in the Catholic Church. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party faces a tough election later this year, and other religious conservatives have said any calls to re-examine his legacy amount to a plot to discredit the nation's biggest moral authority. That argument resonates strongly with many older Poles who John Paul inspired to stand up to Communism in the 1970s and '80s, although…

Mar

31

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis ‘gradually improving’ in hospital after infection

RELIGION

CRISPIAN BALMER and ALVISE ARMELLINI POPE Francis's health is improving after he was hospitalised with a respiratory infection and he has resumed working while treatment continues, the Vatican said on Thursday. The pope was taken to hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, raising fresh concerns over the health of the 86-year-old pontiff, who is suffering from a number of ailments. "His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. His clinical picture is gradually improving and he is continuing his planned treatment," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. "This morning after breakfast, he read some newspapers and…

Mar

01

2023

By The African Mirror

God and politics in South Africa: the ruling ANC’s winning strategy

RELIGION

RELIGION shapes some of the most controversial decisions that governments need to make: access to abortion, same-sex marriage, the death penalty and the legal status of sex work. Indeed, it is likely that most voters across the world consider religion to be essential to their lives. Yet research on religion and political parties remains surprisingly inexact. Author DAVID JEFFERY-SCHWIKKARD, PhD Candidate (Theology and Religious Studies), King's College London Much of the research to date has been waylaid by the wrong question: is a political party fundamentally religious or secular? Yet the “essence” of a party resists definition. Is it its…

Mar

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis: the first post-colonial papacy to deliver messages that resonate with Africans

RELIGION

WHEN he was presented to a cheering crowd at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on 13 March 2013, few people outside Latin America knew much about Jorge Bergoglio. But a decade later, based on my work as a scholar of Catholicism, I would argue that most Catholics know and love Pope Francis. They also see a deep connection between his message and priorities, and their dreams and hopes for a better church and a world that is reconciled. Author STAN CHU ILO, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University When Pope Francis was introduced in 2013, I was…

Mar

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope Francis: the first post-colonial papacy to deliver messages that resonate with Africans

RELIGION

WHEN he was presented to a cheering crowd at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on 13 March 2013, few people outside Latin America knew much about Jorge Bergoglio. But a decade later, based on my work as a scholar of Catholicism, I would argue that most Catholics know and love Pope Francis. They also see a deep connection between his message and priorities, and their dreams and hopes for a better church and a world that is reconciled. Author STAN CHU ILO, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University When Pope Francis was introduced in 2013, I was…