The singing nuns of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in the US, have made history by becoming the first group since 2006 to top the chart for a long period of time with a classical album. The album released by the nuns is called Angels and Saints at Ephesus.

The album has remained at the top of the Billboard traditional classical albums chart for 13 weeks.

The group was founded in 1995.

Bishops against same-sex marriage

In a statement, the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Ibadan, Nigeria, said: “We confirm that a family consists of a man, a woman and children. We empathise with people who live with homosexual and gay tendencies and call on society not to discriminate against them.

“We however firmly reject all attempts to enshrine these tendencies in the Nigerian constitution, and we appeal to every Nigerian to protect the traditional values of marriage and the family as a way of fostering a cohesive society.”

Prayers for Romero’s canonisation

Archbishop of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega prayed for the canonisation of Archbishop Oscar Romero during a homily at the closing Mass of the Eucharistic Congress held in El Salvador. Cardinal Ortega attended the congress as the special envoy of Pope Francis.

Archbishop Romero was archbishop of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, and was assassinated during the celebration of the Mass. He was a critic of human rights abuses that were being committed by the military junta that was running El Salvador.

‘Promote Catholic teaching on family’ – Pope Francis

Pope Francis asked the members of the Knights of Columbus to promote Catholic moral teaching on marriage, sexuality and the protection of human life for the good of society.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone communicated the Pope’s message through a letter to Supreme Knight Carl Anderson.

Cardinal Bertone wrote that Pope Francis invited the Knight of Colombus “to bear witness to the authentic nature of marriage and the family, the sanctity and inviolable dignity of human life and the beauty and truth of human sexuality”.

He also appealed to them that during these times of rapid changes they should promote and defend the “great patrimony of moral truths taught by the gospel and confirmed by right reason, which serve as the bedrock of a just and well-ordered society”.

‘Aleppo has been reduced to wretched poverty’

Bishop Antoine Audo, a Chaldean Catholic bishop, told the Italian daily La Stampa that the Syrian city of Aleppo, which has been the centre of continuous fighting in the Syrian civil war, has been reduced to the most abject poverty.

“Now it is much more dangerous to leave Aleppo,” said Bishop Audo.

“Everybody tells me and the other bishops to move around discreetly without wearing bishops’ clothing in order to avoid being kidnapped.”

The bishop said over half a million people have fled their homes. He added that it is only the poor who are left in the city, as they do not have enough money to run away.

“Many no longer have money even to put food on the table. Abject poverty is everywhere, even in the air, in a city which once boasted flourishing dynamism.”

14 priests killed in 2013

Fourteen Catholic priests around the world have been murdered in 2013 to date, according to a report by La Stampa’s Vatican insider.

Four priests were killed in Colombia and two in Mexico. One priest was murdered in each of the following nations: Brazil, Canada, Haiti, India, Italy, Syria, Tanzania, and Venezuela.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.