Priests to Offer Blessings to Muslims

Priests in the northern Italian city of Bologna will visit Muslims during Easter to further interreligious relations, the international news service AKI reported.

The move was promoted by Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, the archbishop of Bologna, who told La Stampa, “The visit of the priest also means to be an offer of good wishes.”

Primate Calls for End to Act Of Settlement

Bishop Alan Harper, the new Anglican Primate of All Ireland, told The Irish Times newspaper it is time to end the ban on Catholics becoming the British monarch. 

Bishop Harper said the Act “belongs to its time and we should move on.”

He added that the disestablishment of the Church of England and the separation of church and state is something it would “not only get over, but would be the better for it.”

Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, has noted that the act would allow a prince to marry “a Hindu, a Buddhist, anyone, but not a Roman Catholic,” and still be king.

China Answers Vatican Call for Reconciliation

According to Christian Today, China has called the Vatican’s latest proposals to reconcile differences between the two nations “a step forward.”

This came following a two-day meeting in Rome to review the Church’s strategy towards China, which doesn’t recognize the Holy See’s authority.

Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, told the BBC: “This is beneficial for China-Vatican relations. It is a step forward but we still have to see the concrete actions.”

French Priest, Advocate for The Homeless, Dies

Abbé Pierre, who renounced wealth to become a priest and launch the Companions of Emmaus movement, died Jan. 22 at the age of 94, The Scotsman reported.

The former resistance fighter, who was born Henri Grouès, was widely regarded as the conscience of the nation. He came in third in 2006’s TV poll of the “Greatest Frenchman of All Time” behind World War II leader Charles de Gaulle and 19th-century scientist Louis Pasteur.