China shuts down prominent Christian church

Beijing officials have shut down one of China's largest "underground" Protestant churches for operating without a licence, the Communist government's latest move to ramp up control over religious worship. Around 70 officials stormed into the Zion Church housed on the third floor of a nondescript office building in the north of the capital after its Sunday afternoon service, church pastor Jin Mingri said.

The Pope's Skoda is being donated to a homeless hub.

THE CAR USED by Pope Francis during his visit to Ireland is being donated to the Crosscare charity’s Mater Dei homeless hub staff. The Catholic charity says that it “provides a range of social care community and worth work services” and its homeless hub falls under that umbrella.

Pope Francis speaks to thousands at Sunday Mass in Dublin

Hundreds of thousands of people braved wet and windy weather to attend Pope Francis' Mass at Phoenix Park in Dublin on Sunday, while thousands more gathered in the city center for protests against clerical sexual abuse amid fresh reports the Pontiff ignored allegations stretching back years.

Pope Ireland visit 2018.

Pope Francis' official itinerary for his pastoral trip to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families on August 25 and 26 has just been announced. And it will be a whirlwind visit for the pontiff, as he crams in meetings, visits and official engagements into the two-day schedule.

A giant 'Drive-Thru Confessional' has appeared in Dublin.

Paddy Power has erected a giant drive-thru confession box to help the people of Ireland repent decades of sins in seconds ahead of the Pope’s visit this weekend.

Pope’s visit to Ireland

 

Pope Francis is expected to draw significantly smaller crowds than the last papal trip to Ireland by John Paul II nearly 40 years ago. Ireland has changed utterly since those days, but the imminent visit from the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics will still be the biggest gathering the country has seen in decades. So, what do we know about it? 

Leo Varadkar: There will be no burqa ban in Ireland'.

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said Ireland will not ban the wearing of the burqa in public.“We are not proposing any burqa bans or any legislation on what people can or can’t wear on their heads so short answer is [there are] no plans to do that.

Lagos Govt Moves To Tax Churches, Mosques.

A bill that would review land use charge in Lagos state has gone through second reading on the floor of the state House of Assembly during plenary on Thursday, December