At a meeting with Romanian ambassador Bogdan Tataru-Cazaban Pope Benedict called for equal justice to be given to all religions.

During the Communist era, property belonging to the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholics was confiscated by government and given to the Orthodox church.

This has been the cause of conflict ever since as Catholics continue to press for compensation for churches that were confiscated.

The Pope said “injustices inherited from the past should be repaired without being afraid of doing justice”.

Cardinal’s sainthood cause opened

The process to declare Vietnamese Cardinal François Nguyen Van Thuan a saint has been opened by the Rome diocese. Mgr Van Thuan spent 13 years in prison in communist Vietnam – nine in solitary confinement – and was freed in 1988.

He was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 1994 and as president of the council in 1998. He died in Rome in 2002, which is why the diocese formally opened his sainthood cause.

In his encyclical on Christian hope, Pope Benedict has described Mgr Van Thuanwas as a model of maintaining hope through prayer, even in a “situation of seemingly utter hopelessness”.

California priest for reality TV show

A priest of the diocese of San Bernardino, in conjunction with a television production company, is seeking to become the subject of a reality television show.

The show, at present entitled Divine Intervention, has been filmed and is being marketed to television networks.

“I often say if the Bible were written today, no one would publish it, and what’s more, no government would allow it to be published because there’s not just the sexy stuff in there, there’s also radical revolutionary stuff in there, and no government would want to read that and think, ‘This is about me’,” says Fr Steve Porter.

‘Dress as saints for Halloween’

Catholic parents in the UK are being advised to celebrate Halloween by dressing their children up as popular saints instead of witches and devils. Youngsters should be made to look like saints rather than celebrate death, evil or occult figures, according to a campaign endorsed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

Adults were encouraged to place lights in their window “as a sign to passers-by that yours is a Christian household and Christ is your light”, and to wear a white garment to symbolise their “allegiance to Christ, our light”. Catholics were urged to put up smiling faces, not scary ones.

“Halloween is now the biggest commercial festival after Christmas and Easter, and it is time we reminded Christians of what it really is,” said Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton.

Giotto crucifix back in Florence

A magnificent crucifix designed by Giotto has been returned to display in All Saints church in Florence, Italy, after an arduous five-year restoration effort. The 14th-century work had been severely damaged by dust and grime, and was nearly unrecognisable when experts began the delicate process of repairing and restoring it.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)