A ‘sad, nervous’ priest is not good, says Pope

POPE FRANCIS has said that a priest who is “often sad, nervous, or has a hard character” is not good for himself, his vocation, or his community. Speaking at a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vatican II decrees — on the Ministry and Life of Priests, and on Priestly Training — the Pope said that priests were “ordained for men” and “live in the midst” of others, adding that their “fundamental place” is within the family, at the “centre of pastoral work”.

Confirmation service in Moroccan capital ‘a first’

A NEW Anglican congregation in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, has held what is believed to be the first confirmation service there. The official religion of the country is Islam, and statistics show that 99.9 per cent of the population are Muslim; but the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, French Protestant, and Anglican churches are given royal permission to minister to their congregations. The Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese in Europe, the Rt Revd David Hamid, said that the confirmation service was a significant date for the new church.

Christian Aid welcomes clearer labelling

CHRISTIAN AID has welcomed new guidelines that will require exported goods and produce from Israeli settlements on the West Bank, which are on sale in the European Union, to be clearly labelled. Exports have previously been labelled “Made in Israel”. The guidelines, issued by the European Commission at a meeting in Brussels last week, are a “positive move” in countering the country’s illegal settlement policy, the charity said.