News

Priest installs cellphone jammer in his church to stop phones ringing during service

Fed up with mobiles ringing and beeping during Mass, Father Michele Madonna has had a jamming device installed in his church in Naples, Italy.

Lawyer Stanley Cohen attempted to negotiate with Islamic State to save Peter Kassig

The controversial New York lawyer Stanley Cohen led unsuccessful negotiations to intervene with Islamic State in an attempt to save the life of the American hostage Peter Kassig, a British newspaper reports today.

Young British women being groomed as 'jihadi brides'

Young British women are being groomed online and offered cash incentives such as free travel to become "jihadi brides" according to an investigation in The Times.

Mark Driscoll 'believed his own hype, ran church like a business'

Mars Hill church lost sight of people it was ministering to, says Warren Throckmorton in a major interview.

Christmas midnight mass in decline with drunks and streakers interrupting prayer

The tradition of attending midnight mass on Christmas Eve, common among Roman Catholics, is under threat as churches report security problems and a lack of priests.

Women bishops to be fast-tracked into Lords

A bill to fast-track women bishops into the House of Lords was introduced in Parliament yesterday.

Pope Francis gives sleeping bags to the homeless for his birthday

With concern for the poor as one of the defining features of his papacy, the pope gave 400 sleeping bags to homeless people in Rome for his 78th birthday on Wednesday.

Reflection: Wearing the world lightly

Jesus' invitation to follow him is so counter-cultural, writes David Baker. We want to accumulate things â but Christ asks us to leave them behind.

Pakistan: 32 militants killed in ambush

The Pakistani army killed 32 militants in an ambush in a remote valley near the Afghan border, the military said on Friday, and 27 in other clashes, four days after a Taliban massacre of children at a school.

Cuba: how Pope Francis' diplomacy helped end a Cold War conflict

Concerns remain about Cuba's human right record, but Churches argue there is hope for change.

Hundreds trapped by Islamic State freed on Sinjar Mountain

Kurdish peshmerga fighters have fought their way to Iraq's Sinjar mountain and freed hundreds of people trapped there by Islamic State fighters, a Kurdish leader said on Thursday.

China: Judge calls for crackdown on terror in Xinjiang

China must crack down "harshly and quickly" on cases involving terror attacks, national security and social stability in its restive region of Xinjiang, the country's top judge said, in comments likely to further worry rights groups and exiles.

CAR: 10,000 child soldiers recruited in conflict

Up to 10,000 children have been recruited by armed groups during the conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) despite a U.N.-backed peacekeeping presence, Save the Children said on Thursday.

Australia: Eight children murdered in 'unspeakable' crime

Eight children have been killed and a woman who was mother to seven of them was injured in the northern Australian city of Cairns, police said on Friday, in what several media outlets reported was a mass stabbing.