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What does the Bible say about homosexuality? For starters, Jesus wasn’t a homophobe

What does the Bible say about homosexuality? For starters, Jesus wasn’t a homophobe

POPE Francis was recently asked about his views on homosexuality. He reportedly replied: This (laws around the world criminalising LGBTI people) is not right. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them … condemning a person like this is a sin. Criminalising people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice. This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has shown himself to be a progressive leader when it comes to, among other things, gay Catholics. Author GERALD WEST, Senior Professor of Biblical Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal It’s a stance that has drawn the ire of some…
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church reaches deal with breakaway Oromo synod

Ethiopian Orthodox Church reaches deal with breakaway Oromo synod

GIULIA PARAVICINI THE influential Ethiopian Orthodox Church said it had agreed with a breakaway synod from the Oromiya region following deadly violence that killed dozens and led to partial internet shutdowns. The rift threatened to bring fresh instability to Africa's second most populous nation, just as its starts to turn the page on a two-year war in the northern Tigray region that killed tens of thousands before a truce was agreed upon in November. The row started on February 4, when three clerics from Oromiya accused the leadership of the main church of discriminating against Oromos, the country's largest ethnic group. They…
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In DR Congo, Pope Francis will see a dynamic local Catholic Church

In DR Congo, Pope Francis will see a dynamic local Catholic Church

ROSE NGOY, BIRD STORY AGENCY AS Pope Francis began his first official visit to Africa this week, the 86-year-old head of the Catholic Church found himself in a country where a huge Catholic following plays a substantial role in the country's public services, including health and education. According to Vatican statistics, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has more than 52 million Catholic believers, out of a total population of 90 million. It is a flock that plays a significant role in Congolese society, not only spiritually but also in the provision of key services in a country that sprawls…
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Pope Francis in DRC and South Sudan: one of his most challenging visits ever

Pope Francis in DRC and South Sudan: one of his most challenging visits ever

ON 31 January, Pope Francis departed from Rome to central Africa, to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbouring state South Sudan. The visit was previously scheduled for 2022 but did not take place because of the pope’s health issues. Pope Francis’ visit to Africa comes at a defining moment for his papacy and for the Catholic church worldwide. He has led a period since December 2019 of global reflection known as “the synodal path” in which Catholics have been able to speak up about the agenda that the church should pursue. A similar exercise, the Second…
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Catholics from in DRC make cross-country journey to meet pope

Catholics from in DRC make cross-country journey to meet pope

DJAFFAR AL KATANTY FATHER Adeodatus Muhigi is among the Roman Catholic faithful in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive city of Goma who prepared to welcome Pope Francis last July before the pontiff had to postpone a trip to Africa because of a knee ailment. Now instead of welcoming the pope in Goma during the rescheduled trip, Father Muhigi will join dozens of other Catholics from the east, including victims of violence and natural disasters, who are making the cross-country journey to the Congolese capital Kinshasa this week. When the plan for Francis' visit to the Central African Country, the first by a…
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Congo revivalist churches draw in Catholics

Congo revivalist churches draw in Catholics

CONGOLESE event organiser Deo Malela was born to Roman Catholic parents and identifies as such. But like more and more Catholics in the central African nation, 28-year-old Malele also regularly attends an evangelical church where he says he finds solutions to everyday problems. "There are illnesses where you can go to hospitals (and) you don't find solutions, but here you have a divine and miraculous healing that you can't explain," he said after attending an evangelical church service in the eastern city of Beni. "It does me good to have the base of the Catholic church and add these miracle…
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Pope Francis’ visit to Africa comes at a defining moment for the Catholic Church

Pope Francis’ visit to Africa comes at a defining moment for the Catholic Church

DURING his planned visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan in February 2023, Pope Francis intends to be in dialogue with African Catholics – but also to listen to political leaders and young Africans. This visit comes at a defining moment in what is regarded as a fairly progressive papacy. Author STAN CHU ILO, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University Pope Francis has convened a worldwide consultation on the future of the Catholic church. This consultation, called a synodal process, began in 2021 and will conclude in 2024. It is the most ambitious…
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Pell’s secret memo casts shadow at cardinal’s funeral

Pell’s secret memo casts shadow at cardinal’s funeral

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis gave a funeral blessing to Cardinal George Pell as revelations that he wrote an anonymous memo branding the current papacy a "catastrophe" hung in the air along with the incense. About 300 people attended Pell's funeral Mass in a secondary chapel of St. Peter's Basilica. In keeping with tradition for deceased cardinals, the Mass was said by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Italian Giovanni Battista Re. Francis arrived at the end to give the final blessing in Latin over the dark brown wooden coffin on the floor. The coffin was incensed and sprinkled with…
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Cardinal Pell lies in state, funeral plans overshadowed by memo revelation

Cardinal Pell lies in state, funeral plans overshadowed by memo revelation

PHILIP PULLELLA AUSTRALIAN Cardinal George Pell was lying in state, with funeral preparations overshadowed by revelations that he was the author of an anonymous memo that branded Pope Francis' pontificate a catastrophe. Pell's closed dark brown wooden coffin was placed on the floor of the small church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians, inside the Vatican walls just metres (yards) away from the Santa Marta residence where Francis lives. Early on Friday, a reporter saw about 20 people kneeling in prayer in the church when it opened for 10 hours of lying in state. Pell, 81, who spent more than…
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Supporters demand sainthood for Benedict as Pope Francis leads funeral

Supporters demand sainthood for Benedict as Pope Francis leads funeral

PHILIP PULLELLA and CRISPIAN BALMER POPE Francis led the funeral of former Pope Benedict, tenderly touching the coffin of his predecessor as he stood supported on a cane before tens of thousands of mourners, with some calling for the late pontiff to be made a saint. Benedict's death on Saturday brought to an end a decade of the former and present pope living side-by-side in the Vatican and it was the first time in more than 200 years that a pontiff had led the service for his predecessor. His death was a loss for conservatives who yearned for a return to a…
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