Christian world

Pope Francis makes donation to Greek Lesbos island after earthquake

Pope Francis has donated 50,000 Euro in aid for victims of the 12 June earthquake on the Greek island of Lesbos, according to the Apostolic Nunciature of Greece.

“It is an unexpected donation and concrete sign of the closeness and affection of [Pope] Francis for the population, which has been deeply tried by the 6.3-magnitude earthquake,” remarked Msgr. Massimo Catterin, chargé d affaires of the Nunciature.

Pope Francis replaces critical theologian Gerhard Ludwig Muller

Pope Francis has decided to replace a conservative cardinal who openly questioned the pontiff's attempts to create a more inclusive church. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller will not have his five-year mandate as Catholicism's chief theologian renewed. The German's departure will open the way for his "meek" second-in-command to take the role. The 69-year-old was named as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope Benedict in 2012.

Pope Urges End to Venezuela Violence, Prays for Victims

Pope Francis is calling for an end to the violent anti-government protests in Venezuela and expressing solidarity with families of those killed. Francis led thousands of people in prayer for Venezuela on Sunday as he noted the country is to mark its independence on Wednesday.

He said, "I assure this dear nation of my prayers and express my closeness to the families who have lost their children in the protests. I appeal for an end to the violence and for a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis."

Metropolitan Porfirije received Bishop Kvarme from Norway

His Eminence Metropolitan Dr. Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana received His Excellency Ole Christian Kvarme, Bishop of the  Church of Norway with residence in Oslo. In a very cordial talk Bishop Ole Christian and Metropolitan Porfirije discussed many topics, such as theological, ecclesial, social and political. Metropolitan Porfirije informed Bishop Ole about the situation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia as well as about a possible cooperation between the two Churches.

DC Bible museum collecting Bibles in more than 2,000 languages

The Museum of the Bible, set to open in Washington, D.C. in November, intends to present an exhibit dedicated to the thousands of Bible translations throughout the world, reports the museum’s site. The illumiNations: Global Bible Exhibit “will shed light on the sheer scale of biblical translation into thousands of written languages while simultaneously depicting how many languages are yet to have a translation of the Bible.” More than 600 Bibles in various languages and dialects have already been collected through the museum’s relationships with various organizations, including the Wycliffe Bible Translators, Biblica, SIL International, and many more.

Nearly 1,000,000 have venerated relics of St. Nicholas in Moscow

Around 930,000 people have waited in line to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas Wonderworker in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral since May 22, according to the latest data, reports RIA-Novosti. Pilgrims are allowed access to the relics daily from 8:00 AM until 9:00 PM. On May 21, a left rib of the greatly beloved hierarch was ceremoniously delivered to and greeted at Christ the Savior during the All-Night Vigil, to the sound of bells from every Orthodox church in the city. The transfer marks the first time any part of the Bari relics have left the Italian city in 930 years.