Catholic Church

A 21-point plan presented Pope Francis, reported the Bulgarian National Television.

The measures are aimed at combating sexual assaults against children in the Catholic Church.

These include simplified procedures for victims to report offenses and the involvement of external experts in church investigations.

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) said he "expected nothing else" of these Catholic clerics in Croatia.

Speaking for the tabloid Kurir, the patriarch announced his full response.

Pope Francis ministered on Tuesday to the thriving Catholic community in the United Arab Emirates as he concluded his historic visit to the Arabian Peninsula with the first-ever papal Mass here.

At least 18 people were killed when two bombs hit a church on a southern Philippine island that is a stronghold of Islamist militants, the military said Sunday, days after voters backed the creation of a new Muslim autonomous region, reports AFP. 

Bucharest, Jan 11 /Agerpres/ - Pope Francis will pay a visit to Romania in the period May 31 - June 2, the Presidential Administration announced on Friday.

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) dignitary, who is at the helm of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, added that after the latest decision of its head, Patriarch Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was "absolutely no longer considered as the supreme church authority by the SPC."

"Accepting the invitation of the top authorities and of the Catholic Church" the pope will be in Bulgaria from May 5-7, and on May 7 in Macedonia, a Vatican spokesperson said on Thursday.

The government of Macedonia announced that the pope will visit Skopje, the birthplace of Mother Theresa, during his visit on May 7 next year.

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New legislation pending in Bulgaria would significantly restrict religious freedom and impair the free exercise of Christians in the former communist nation, writes American Center for Law and Justice.

Several events are being held in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday and Friday to commemorate the death of former Bosnian Croat general Slobodan Praljak, a year after he swallowed poison in the courtroom while the verdict finding him guilty of war crimes was being read out.

The Muslim charity Merhamet, as well as Caritas Banja Luka, the Catholic relief organisation, will receive far less funding in 2019, according to the draft version of the Republika Srpska budget.