Vatican projects budget deficit (CNS) Presenting a budget projection that foresees a deficit of $37.1 million in 2022, the prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said he believes the Vatican is on the path to honesty and transparency in financial matters. “We are well aware that we have made major mistakes in financial management, which have undermined the credibility of the Holy See. We seek to learn from them, and we believe we have remedied them so that they do not happen again,” the prefect, Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, told Vatican News…
Pope sends greetings for Chinese New Year (CNS) Pope Francis has conveyed his best wishes to the people of China and other parts of Asia preparing to celebrate Lunar New Year on Feb. 1, expressing hopes that “in the new year everyone may enjoy peace, health and a peaceful and secure life…”
Ireland marks anniversary of Bloody Sunday (AFP) Relatives of 13 civil rights protesters shot dead in Northern Ireland by British soldiers 50 years ago demanded justice on Jan. 30 as they commemorated one of the darkest days in modern UK history. The Bloody Sunday victims’ names were read out under a leaden sky to the mournful notes of an Irish flute as the relatives and hundreds of supporters gathered for a memorial service in the city of Londonderry — known as Derry to pro-Irish nationalists. Earlier, many had retraced a peaceful march through the divided city that ended in carnage on Jan. 30, 1972, when the protesters had set out to demand Catholic rights against the city’s Protestant minority…
Orthodox archbishop suspends priests who refused to be vaccinated (AP) The head of Cyprus’s Orthodox Christian Church said Sunday that he will suspend a dozen priests from his diocese because they refused to heed his call to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Archbishop Chrystostomos II told state broadcaster CyBC that most of the priests are also theologians who have swayed some of the faithful not to get vaccinated. The archbishop called the insubordination “unheard of” and warned that the suspensions could be extended to six months or lead to the priests being defrocked…
Michigan student sues after school suspends him for voicing his beliefs on LGBTQ community (MILive.com) A Michigan student is suing his school district after he said he was suspended for voicing his Christian beliefs. David Stout, a junior at Plainwell High School, was suspended for three days for violating the district’s bullying policy after his attorney said he shared his Christian beliefs in a private text conversation and in the hallway at school, according to a press release from the Great Lakes Justice Center, a nonprofit aimed at defending First Amendment rights…
