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In May, Pope Francis issued a detailed ruling on how officials in the Roman Catholic Church must handle cases of clerical sexual abuse, the first official codification of the church’s global policy. --  Though abuse survivors have criticized the pope’s ruling as not strong enough and for being approved only “ad experimentum for three years,” his statement is thorough about how abuse allegations should be handled and powerful given the backing of the head of the Catholic Church.

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In the Christian stronghold of Maaloula people still speak Aramaic – the language of Jesus Christ. The village was captured by Al Nusra terrorists in September 2013. They profaned and plundered churches, ancient sanctuaries and set fire to houses. Most of its inhabitants were forced to flee. Today, after 5 years, the villagers are trying to start anew. The accounts of the Melkite priest and of the Orthodox Archimandrite    read more - foto - video

A 1,400-year-old monastery that was the first Christian site discovered in the UAE has reopened to the public. --     The site on Sir Bani Yas island, about 200km west of Abu Dhabi city, has been covered by a new shelter, information boards added, lighting installed to allow night tours and new roads built to improve access.

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As the council of the Lutheran World Federation met on 12 June, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit shared greetings and appreciation.

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Vatican City — Pope Francis told Jesuits in Romania that tensions and struggles within the church have left it wounded and that the only path forward is through humble dialogue, not futile arguments.

Midelt, Morocco — There are no ghosts at the Notre Dame de L'Atlas Monastery in Midelt, Morocco, but there are memories. It is in this city in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains where the two Trappist monks who survived the massacre of their community in Tibhirine, Algeria, re-established their community.

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The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I strongly criticized the Russian Patriarchate of Moscow on Tuesday regarding the issue of the independence of the Ukrainian Church.  The already-cool relations between the two Christian Orthodox Patriarchates were completely severed a few months ago, when the Ukrainian Church received the status of “Autocephaly,” or Independence, from the Russian Church.
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WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish court has ordered church authorities to hand over to prosecutors classified files regarding a paedophilia case, in a rare example of a clash between the state and the powerful Catholic Church in deeply devout Poland.
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Communiqué. From 6 to 7 June, within the program “From heart to heart” inaugurating the ministry of the new Metropolitan of Philadelphia, Kyr Borys Gudziak, a conference entitled “The Future of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in North America” was held at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

In the presence of many people, today, Tuesday, June 11, the memory of Saint Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas was celebrated in the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a day that the name of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is also honoured.
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By Linda Bordoni

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From January’s church bombings in southern Philippines which killed at least 20 and wounded scores more, to the decades-old persecution of Myanmar’s Rohingya population which has seen a mass exodus of 1.2 million people fleeing for their lives, religious freedom isn’t exactly one of ASEAN’s strong points.

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The regional presidents of the World Council of Churches sent special greetings to churches around the world celebrating Pentecost.

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Opening address by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania at the International Conference on the relations between the State and religious denominations in the European Union, at the Palace of the Patriarchate, Friday, June 7, 2019.

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Archbishop Elpidophoros: “the saints are our bridge and bond with heaven.” His visit to venerate St. Iakovos Tsalikis, the earthly angel and heavenly man, and the address of the Archbishop at the Sacred Monastery of St. David of Evia, May 30, 2019.

Violence towards the faithful does not seem to originate in laws or declarations of the supreme leaders, but zealous Party officials, worried about the growth of Christian communities. The testimony of a Henan priest. 
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On the plane returning to Rome from Romania, Pope Francis made an extraordinary statement on the role of theology in ecumenical relations at his press conference June 2.

CHARIS, a new unified service for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, will be inaugurated at Pentecost. Father Alexandre Awi Mello, secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, and Jean-Luc Moens, the first moderator of CHARIS, were asked by Vatican News to tell us about this new service, which was commissioned by Pope Francis.
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Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church Department of External Church Relations, visited the WCC at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 5 June, during a visit to Switzerland.

(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) annual governing body convenes from 13 to 18 June at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, under the theme “Because we know God’s voice” (John 10:4).

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The message of Msgr. Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, new President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious dialogue to Muslims celebrating the festivity marking the end of Ramadan: "Fears are inherent in our human nature but they must be overcome. Tenderness is the key to overcome them. Tenderness means touching the humanity of the other; being the travel companions of every human being”
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Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday warned that Lebanon’s leaders are “undermining the foundations of the strong state.”    “We in Lebanon have political conflicts that turn into sectarian ones and distort the culture of the National Pact, coexistence and the formula of balanced partnership in power and administration,” al-Rahi lamented.
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Perhaps this is the time when all people in the United States expect from our Church a special testimony of the Christian faith. This is the time when everyone is waiting for renewal and revival. But at the same time today we hear a special word of comfort - the word of the Comforter.
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By Jean Charles Putzolu - Jerusalem

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Tomorrow, Danish citizens will be called to the polls just ten days after the European vote. Jeppe Duva, editor-in-chief of Kristeligt Dagblad, a daily newspaper of Christian inspiration, described the "moods" in the country, the political players, the potential decline of the centre-right coalition that ruled the Country up to now. Brexit has also done its part... 
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The Secretary of State of Vatican , Cardinal Pietro Parolin, will pay a visit to Kosovo this Saturday to partecipate in two Masses in Prishtina and Prizren.
The Catholic Church sees this visit as an opportunity to change the attitude of recogniting the State's indipendence.

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An Orthodox Church delegation including Patriarch Irinej and the Montenegrin bishop Amfilohije met Bashar al-Assad on Monday evening, with the Serbian religious leader and the Syrian president exchanging warm words over Serbia’s stance on Kosovo and the ongoing conflict in Syria.

The official enthronement ceremony of the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Borys Gudziak, took place on June 4 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia, with participation of 50 bishops from the Eastern Catholic, Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Catholic Churches, over a hundred of priests and members of the monastic orders.Bishop Boris became the seventh Metropolitan      read more

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew inaugurated the work of the 3rd Halki Summit on Theology and Ecology on Saturday, June 1. The Summit, held in Constantinople, focused on the subject of “Theological Formation and Ecological Awareness”, in which more than fifty distinguished theologians and scientific experts participated, coming from forty theological schools and institutes from different countries.
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Your Eminences,  Distinguished speakers and participants,  Esteemed guests,    Χριστός Ἀνέστη! Christ is Risen!
It is a special joy to welcome you to the Queen of Cities for the official opening of our Halki Summit, which will focus on the subject of “Theological Formation and Ecological Awareness.” This summit stands in a long tradition spanning over a quarter of a century.

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