Europe News

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addresses General Synod delegates during the debate on gay marriage at The Church House on Feb. 8, 2023, in London.

Conservative Anglican leaders reject archbishop of Canterbury over same-sex union blessings

Feb 23, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

The provinces issued a statement Feb. 20 accusing the Church of England of breaking communion with those who remain faithful... Read more

Students gather at a 40 Days for Life vigil outside a Glasgow abortion facility.

It could soon be a crime to gather outside of abortion facilities in Scotland, even for prayer

Feb 23, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

“We’re there to pray and offer help if somebody wants the help, if they come up to us,” Robert Colquhoun... Read more

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Ukrainian Catholics to livestream Stations of the Cross from bomb shelter on Friday

Feb 22, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The online prayer event on the first Friday of Lent at 8 p.m. Kyiv time will tell the personal stories... Read more

From left: Katharina Westerhorstmann, Dorothea Schmidt, Marianne Schlosser, and Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz.

Four women opt out of German Synodal Way, saying it ‘departs from the universal Church’

Feb 22, 2023

By AC Wimmer

Ahead of the German Synodal Way’s final meeting next month, four prominent participants officially announced Wednesday they were quitting the... Read more

Bishop David O'Connell.

Murdered Bishop David O’Connell mourned in his native Ireland

Feb 21, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

David O’Connell, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles who was shot and killed over the weekend, is being mourned in... Read more

Auxiliary Bishop Ansgar Puff in the devastated Kreuzerhöhungskirche in Wissen, Germany, Feb. 15, 2023.

Watchdog raises concerns after arson attacks on German, French churches

Feb 21, 2023

By AC Wimmer

Following an arson attack on a historic church in Germany, a European watchdog has raised concerns over hate crimes targeting... Read more

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Spain passes transgender law allowing minors treatment without parental consent

Feb 17, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

The law will allow transgender genital surgery and hormonal treatments from the age of 16 without parental consent. Read more

The minister of equality of Spain, Irene Montero, in the Congress of Deputies.

Spain passes new abortion law even more permissive than one upheld by Constitutional Court

Feb 17, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

The law’s provisions are even more harmful than those of the law passed in 2010 that was recently upheld by... Read more

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce (center-left) and Father Sean Gough (center-right) celebrate their legal win outside the Birmingham Magistrates Court in Birmingham, England, on Feb. 16, 2023.

Two UK Catholics acquitted after being charged for praying in front of abortion clinic

Feb 16, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Father Sean Gough and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce were charged with violating a local Public Spaces Protection Order that censors speech around... Read more

Wiktoria Ulma with six of her children.

Beatification date announced for married couple with seven children martyred by Nazis

Feb 15, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The entire Ulma family, including one unborn child, will be beatified in Markowa, Poland. Read more

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg (left) and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops

‘We need time,’ Synod on Synodality organizers tell German-language media

Feb 14, 2023

By AC Wimmer

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg and Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech made their remarks in the wake of the recent European... Read more

Portugal Catholic Church /

Portugal report details decades of sexual abuse by priests and others within the Catholic Church

Feb 14, 2023

By Clara Raimundo

Only 25 complaints have been referred to authorities for prosecution because the statute of limitations has expired or the victims... Read more

Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante, Spain.

Spanish bishop proclaims the right to life doesn’t come from the ballot box or a court

Feb 13, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

“There are human beings who do not have human rights. It’s the obvious conclusion,” said Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of... Read more

Vittorio Micheli, who was miraculously cured at Lourdes in 1963.

60 years after his miraculous healing, he still returns to Lourdes

Feb 11, 2023

By Jonah McKeown, Solène Tadié

In April 1962, a 23-year-old Italian soldier named Vittorio Micheli was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his left hip. Read more

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on Dec. 9, 2022

Ukrainian Catholic leader says focus is on providing help and hope, one year into the war

Feb 10, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

“It’s a miracle we are still alive,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk told reporters at a Feb. 8 news conference organized... Read more

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Church of England votes to bless same-sex couples

Feb 9, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The Church of England’s governing body has voted to bless same-sex couples while leaving unchanged the definition of marriage as... Read more

Synod delegates listen to presentations at the European Continental Assembly in Prague on Feb. 7, 2023.

European Catholics debate final outcome of Synod on Synodality assembly in Prague

Feb 9, 2023

By Courtney Mares

European Catholics debated Thursday the contents of a final document that will influence the discussions of the Synod of Bishops... Read more

Four cardinals, 45 bishops, and 80 priests concelebrated Mass Feb. 8, 2023, under the high vaulted ceiling of Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral with about 500 people in attendance. The Mass marked the midway point of the European Continental Assembly meeting in Prague Feb. 5-12, 2023.

Cardinal Grech at European assembly: ‘The synod is not there to destroy Catholic identity’

Feb 9, 2023

By Courtney Mares

In a homily in Prague Feb. 9, Grech noted that some have wrongly understood the synod as “a battle of... Read more

Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics.

Germany’s Synodal Way leaders push women’s ordination during European bishops’ synodal assembly

Feb 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Irme Stetter-Karp, the president of the lay Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), addressed delegates in the meeting in Prague... Read more

Synod on Synodality logo

Synod on Synodality: Europe’s Continental Assembly in Prague discusses tensions in the Church

Feb 7, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Two hundred delegates are meeting this week in the capital of the Czech Republic for the last stage of regional... Read more