Editorial Assistant

Recalling priest’s murder, Archbishop says ‘Father Hamel is still alive’
- Global Church
- July 26, 2017
During an anniversary Mass on Wednesday at the small Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, where Father Jacques Hamel was killed by having his throat slit on July 26, 2016, by two 19-year-old Muslim terrorists, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen said, “Though he is dead, Father Jacques Hamel is still alive.” The Mass was attended by several French dignitaries, including President Emmanuel Macron.
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Sister of martyred French priest says he’s now a ‘brother to all’
- Global Church, Interviews
- July 26, 2017
One year ago today, 85-year-old French Father Jacques Hamel was brutally slain while saying Mass in his small parish in Normandy. Today, his sister says Hamel has become a “brother to all,” and also stubbornly professes hope, both for Christian/Muslim coexistence in France and even for newly elected French President Emanuelle Macron, who will be at Hamel’s anniversary Mass.
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Parolin’s visit to Russia key step in Pope Francis’s courtship of Putin
- Vatican
- July 21, 2017
The second highest-ranking official in the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is preparing for his August trip to Russia. The historic event represents a key step in Pope Francis’s courtship with President Putin, with one eye pointed toward ambitious ecumenical possibilities with the Orthodox Church and the other fixed on the Middle East.
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Pope Francis encourages fight against the mafia on anniversary of brutal murders

On the 25th anniversary of the murders of two Italian judges killed by the mafia, Pope Francis insisted on the Vatican’s commitment in the fight against corruption and organized crime. The latest papal tweet falls in line with Francis’s determination to transform words into concrete actions against all mafia, including those within the Church.

In a letter Pope Francis praises news outlet initiative for migrants and refugees

“I am close in affection and encouragement to all those, institutions, associations and private individuals, who open themselves up wisely to the complex phenomenon of migration,” Pope Francis wrote to a news agency portal aimed at providing reliable news for migrants and refugees.