Some 635,000 signatures in defense of marriage and family were presented to the Argentinean Senate, as legislators consider legalizing same-sex unions and adoption by same-sex couples.

Senator Liliana Negre de Alonso, president of the Senate’s General Legislation Commission, received Monday representatives of various institutions who handed her 524,000 signatures and a statement supported by more than 400 organizations. A separate 110,000 signatures were also turned in from people who are urging lawmakers to put the issue before a popular vote… Read more »

On Sunday, 19th July, 2010, at midnight, the Marathon ‘Oħloq Tbissima’ in aid of the Missions run by the Missionary Society of Saint Paul was brought to a close. €174,770 were collected during the 60-hour marathon during which was characterised by various activities, such as Mass, a live chat via Skype with missionaries abroad, a song festival, etc. The President of Malta, Dr… Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI will appoint a representative to the government of Vietnam as a first step toward establishing full diplomatic relations with the communist country, the Vatican announced. After a meeting of Vatican and Vietnamese representatives June 23-24 at the Vatican, a statement said that unlike a nuncio, the Vatican’s representative would not be residing in Vietnam for the time being… Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed new heads of several Vatican departments, naming Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Cardinal Ouellet, 66, will head the office that helps the pope choose bishops for Latin-rite dioceses around the world. It’s the first time a North American cardinal has been placed in charge of the powerful congregation… Read more »

On Thursday, 15th July, 2010, Archbishop Paul Cremona OP met Maltese missionaries who at present are in Malta, at Dar l-Emigrant, Valletta. The Secretariat for Maltese Priests Overseas, SMPO, organized this meeting for all the priests, religious and lay missionaries who at present are in Malta on holiday. During the meeting the missionaries had the opportunity to share their experiences about pastoral and missionary related work… Read more »

Italy defended the display of the crucifix in public schools before Europe’s human rights court, arguing that it is a symbol of the country’s cultural heritage and not an imposition of religious belief on students. In a hearing June 30 before the appeals body of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, a representative for the Italian government urged the court to overturn a November 2009 ruling that banned the custom as a violation of religious freedom… Read more »

“We believe it inappropriate to put same-sex marriages on the same footing as heterosexual marriages and give same-sex couples the right to adopt children, for this would undermine the fundamental and irreplaceable role of both mother and father in the life of the family”.

It was written by Mgr Anton Stres, president of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference and archbishop of Ljubljana, and Nedzad Grabus, president of the Islamic Community in Slovenia, in a joint statement signed today in Ljubljana in which – as reported by the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference Press Office – the two religious leaders reaffirmed “the need for their respective communities of faithful to uphold the value of marriage between a man and a woman and of the family”… Read more »