First Services Held at New Russian Orthodox Church in Lisbon

Bishop Nestor (Sirotenko) of Korsun has led the first services to be celebrated at the new Russian Orthodox Church of St. Felix in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. The church was transferred to the Eparchy of Korsun, which cares for the communities of the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church in Western and Southern Europe, from the Roman Catholic Patriarchate of Lisbon.

Following the services Bishop Nestor met with all the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Portugal to discuss the possibilities for the future development of the Church in the country. More here.

Pre-Vatican II Mass Returns to the Holy Land

Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem of the Roman Catholic Church has authorized the celebration of the traditional Roman Mass in his diocese, the first such formal authorization to be granted in the Holy Land since the modernization of the Roman Catholic Church's services in the 1960s. More here.

Roman Catholic Church Hosts Inter-Religious Conference in Assisi

Pope Benedict XVI Ratzinger of the Roman Catholic Church presided today over an inter-religious peace conference in Assisi's Basilica of St. Francis, flanked by Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople and Rabbi David Rosen and with representatives of animism, Baha'ism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, paganism, Protestantism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism participating. The conference was organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a similar conference organized by Pope John Paul II. More here.

Roman Catholic Pope, Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Meet at Castel Gandolfo

As part of his recent visit to Italy Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk met with Pope Benedict XVI of Rome to discuss relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. The meeting took place with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow. More here.

Serbian Religious Organizations Call for Implementation of Property Restitution Law

Representatives of Serbia's historic religious organizations, among them leaders of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church in Serbia, and the Muslim community, have renewed calls for the Serbian government to fully implement its law on the restitution of property stolen from religious organizations during the Communist era. More (in Serbian) here.

SSPX District Superior Permits Vernacular Masses

In a recent interview Fr. Daniel Couture, the district superior for Asia of the traditionalist Roman Catholic Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), discussed the practice of his district to encourage mainline Roman Catholic priests who want to serve the traditional Mass and do not know Latin to serve in the local vernacular. Fr. Daniel also discussed the collapse of the spiritual life of Roman Catholic clergy in many dioceses in Southeast Asia. More here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Concludes Paraguay Visit

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has concluded his visit to Paraguay. On his Sunday in the country Metropolitan Hilarion concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Platon of Buenos Aires not in one of the Paraguayan capital's Russian Orthodox churches (of which there are at least three), but rather in its Roman Catholic cathedral. More here and here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with Archbishop Jerome, Participates in Orthodox-Catholic Commission

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun another visit to Greece, meeting with Archbishop Jerome II (Liapis) of Athens in the Greek capital to discuss relations between the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches before proceeding to Crete to participate in a meeting of the working group of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. More here.

"Shades of Grey: The Record of Archbishop Stepinac"

An excellent survey on why many have reservations over the veneration of Roman Catholic Archbishop Alojzije Cardinal Stepinac of Zagreb can be found here. Yes, the biases and past political associations of the author, Srdja Trifkovic, are well known. They do not, however, change Cardinal Stepinac's words or actions, and the article is therefore worth a read.

Egyptian Christians Prepare to Meet to Discuss Draft Law

Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church and Coptic Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, and Roman Catholic organizations are considering joint meetings to discuss their common issues with a proposed draft law to regulate the construction of new places of worship and the repair of existing ones. More here.

More Chinese Catholic Bishops to be Consecrated Without Papal Approval

The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, the state-sponsored organization that oversees the life of the Roman Catholic Church on mainland China, is preparing to consecrate several new Chinese Catholic bishops, some with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI and others without. More here.

Roman Catholic Pope Visits Stepinac's Grave in Croatia

During his recent visited to Croatia Pope Benedict XVI of the Roman Catholic Church visited the grave of beatified Archbishop Alojzije Cardinal Stepinac of Zagreb, accused of collusion with the pro-Nazi Ustashe regime in its attempts to ethnically cleanse Croatia of Serbs and Jews, and praised him as 'a defender of the Jews, the Orthodox and of all the persecuted.' More here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with German Catholic Leaders

During his visit to Germany last weekend Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk and Archbishop Theophan of Berlin of the Russian Orthodox Church met with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church in German to discuss relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and ways the two churches could work with one another, particularly on social issues. More (in Russian) here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with Representatives of Church and State in Hungary

During a visit to Budapest for an interreligious conference Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk of the Russian Orthodox Church met with the primate of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary and the Hungarian prime minister to discuss the possibilities for cooperation between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in Hungary and the European Union in the defense of 'family values.' More (in Russian) here.

Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic Representatives Meet in Warsaw

As part of his ongoing visit to Poland Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk of the Russian Orthodox Church has met with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland and the Vatican. The meeting was held with the hope of promoting the reconciliation of the Polish and Russian peoples and to discuss issues on which the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches can make a common stand. More (in Russian) here.

Vatican Mandates Celebration of Latin Mass for Traditionalist Faithful

The Vatican has issued a directive mandating the celebration of the traditional Latin-language Roman Mass in parishes with traditional Roman Catholic members. More here.

Australian Catholic Bishop Placed in Early Retirement

Pope Benedict XVI of Rome has placed a Roman Catholic bishop in Australia in early retirement for his support of the ordination of women to the Roman Catholic priesthood and the recognition of mainstream Protestant clergymen in Australia as clergy. More here. Hat tip to Ad Orientem for posting this first!

"Cardinal George Suspends Reverend Pfleger"

This interesting article on an ongoing dispute in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago can be found here.

Particularly of interest to me was the implication that Roman Catholic priests, in this particular archdiocese anyways, only serve 12-year terms as parish rectors to avoid them becoming too close to their parishes (my wording, not the article's). While I can understand a little of why such a policy would be in place, it seems at the same time to be a violation of the historic understanding of the priest as the father of his parish church. There's certainly an unhealthy closeness that can develop, but on the whole one would think it better for a priest to know and be known by his flock. Thoughts? :-)

Hat tip to Ad Orientem for posting this article!

Roman Catholics Seek Return of Mogilev Cathedral

The Roman Catholic Church in Belarus is seeking the return of its former cathedral in the eastern city of Mohilev, which was confiscated from the Church during the Soviet era. More here.

Church of England Blocks Move to Include Roman Catholics in Royal Line of Succession

The Church of England has reportedly blocked an effort to reform the Act of Settlement removing Roman Catholics from the succession to the British throne. In opposing the reform leaders of the Church of England expressed their concern over the possibility of a member of the Roman Catholic Church becoming head of the Anglican Communion. More here.

It would seem to me that the logical thing to do in this circumstance would be to either disestablish the Church of England (perhaps after making an arrangement with the British government for the maintenance of historic churches and institutions) or remove the Queen as head of the Church so that the succession laws don't need to continue to discriminate against the Roman Catholic members of the House of Windsor (if indeed there are any).