Priests kidnapped in Ukraine

Two Catholic priests have been kidnapped by separatists in eastern Ukraine, the Religious Information Service for Ukraine (RISU) has reported.

Father Tikhon Kulbaka, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, was kidnapped in Donetsk, the nation’s 5th-largest city, in early July and has been released. According to the RISU report, the priest “faced death several times” during his captivity.

Following Father Kulbaka’s release, Father Victor Vonsovich, a Roman-rite priest, was abducted in eastern Ukraine.

Pope Francis makes phone call to Israel, Palestine presidents

In wake of the rising death toll in Gaza due to increased tensions between Israel and Palestine, Pope Francis made a personal call to both presidents in order to ask for peace.

“Following last Sunday’s heartfelt appeal for continued prayer for peace in the Holy Land, this morning the Holy Father Francis personally telephoned President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas,” a July 18 statement from the Vatican read.

During the calls, the Roman Pontiff voiced “his very serious concerns regarding the current situation of conflict involving in particular the Gaza Strip which, in a climate of growing hostility, hatred and suffering for the two populations, is claiming many victims and giving rise to a serious humanitarian emergency.”

Tensions between Israel and Palestine have steadily increased in recent weeks following the murder of three Israeli teenagers, whose bodies were discovered June 30. The day of their funeral, the body of a Palestinian teenager was found, whose death was seen as a retaliation killing.

Chaldean patriarch urges Iraq’s parliament to elect new national leaders

The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See, has urged the members of the Iraqi parliament to set aside their differences and quickly choose a new Iraqi president, prime minister, and parliament speaker.

“It is [a] national, historical and moral responsibility that is imposed on you,” Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako said in a July 15 letter, “because the lives of the Iraqis and the unity of Iraq [are] in danger.”

The patriarch, according to a Fides report, also proposed that the members of parliament pray the following prayer:

God, help us that we may use the dialogue between us and that we may understand each other to resolve the misunderstanding between us, far from restriction and sectarianism. God help us to spread the peace and tranquility between our people, so that Iraq may come out from its problem victorious. Amen.

Russian Orthodox Church Deeply Regrets Church of England Allowing Women Bishops

The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed its regret over the decision by the Church of England to allow women bishops, saying it is a diversion from the “initial church order” and follows “modern liberal trends.”

Metroplitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Orthodox church’s external relations, told Interfax-Religion July 17: “The Orthodox Church takes a negative stance on so-called female priesthood and female episcopacy.

“We see this process as representing the diversion of the Anglican Church and a whole range of Protestant denominations from the initial church order and as following modern liberal trends. We regret that such decisions have been made.”

He said such a move does not bring Christian communities closer to the unity which ecumenical meetings claim to aspire to. “The space for dialogue is narrowing down at the fault of our partners,” he said, “and it is with great regret that we have to state this.”

Pope Francis prays for the victims of the Malaysian Airlines tragedy

The Holy Father Francis has learned with dismay of the tragedy of the Malaysian Airlines aircraft downed in east Ukraine, a region marked by high tensions. He raises prayers for the numerous victims of the incident and for their relatives, and renews his heartfelt appeal to all parties in the conflict to seek peace and solutions through dialogue, in order to avoid further loss of innocent human lives.

Faith leaders join in condemnation of UK assisted dying bill

Various religious leaders have joined their voices to denounce a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill in parts of the U.K., stating that doing so violates human dignity and opens the door to coercion.

“Every human life is of intrinsic value and ought to be affirmed and cherished. This is central to our laws and our social relationships; to undermine this in any way would be a grave error,” said a July 16 joint statement signed by the leaders.

The proposed bill would change the laws in England and Wales, which presently punish assisted suicide by up to 14 years in prison. Introduced by Lord Falconer, a peer with the Labour Party, the legislation would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to seriously ill patients who request them and who are believed to have less than six months to live.

Having its first reading in the House of Lords June 5, the bill’s principles will be debated, and perhaps voted on, for the first time when it receives its second reading today on July 18.

Pope Francis receives an autographed Albiceleste shirt

The players of the Argentine national football team have given Pope Francis an “Albiceleste” shirt signed by all the members of the team. Although Argentina fell at the final hurdle during the final of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil, losing 1:0 to Germany in extra time, the team said they were confident the Pope thought of them throughout the tournament.

A large-scale wall photo of the team with the Pope was installed by the Asociacion de Futbol Argentino (AFA) at the Brazilian sports complex where the team trained during the World Cup, a snapshot taken when the team visited Pope Francis in the Vatican, on the occasion of the friendly match against Italy in his honour.

IOR manager salaries revealed

The Institute for the Works of Religion has published its annual report for 2013 ahead of its leadership change. The 23 million Euros seized back in 2010 remain blocked. The report also presents an analysis of assets and liabilities in the PIG countries

The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) published its annual report for 2013 on its website http://www.ior.va, following its recent leadership reshuffle. The independent audit and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche Ltd. gave the green light on 9 July. This is why the document does not contain the names of the IOR’s new management, as these figures, including the new president, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu – were nominated on 9 July. The document contains the information presented last week, plus details regarding the salaries of the outgoing managers and the severance pay received by its former directors. It also provides information regarding the geographical distribution of assets and liabilities and confirms that the 23 million Euros seized by prosecutors in 2010 remain blocked.