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Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, whose spire and roof were destroyed by an April 15, 2019, fire, is expected be rebuilt within the five-year deadline set by the French government. As confirmed by the head of the construction site, French Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin, in an interview with the Associated Press, the faithful and tourists should have access to the site again by the end of 2024. Reconstruction work only began some 24 months after the tragic incident occurred, with the first phase consisting of cleaning and securing the site, involving more than 200 different companies. Although the beloved cathedral will not be ready for the Olympic Games to be held in the French capital in July and August 2024, it should have regained its former shape by then, with the reconstruction phase of its emblematic spire to begin in April. The wood that will be used to rebuild the frame was blessed by the rector of the cathedral, Bishop Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, on December 15, 2022.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253809/reopening-of-notre-dame-cathedral-confirmed-for-late-2024
A human rights group active in China is reporting that religious believers in a populous Chinese province are now required to register on a government app in order to attend worship services. ChinaAid, a U.S.-based Christian charity, reported March 6 that the religious department of the provincial government of Henan is rolling out a system whereby all believers must make online reservations before they can attend services in churches, mosques, or Buddhist temples. The reservations are to be made through an app called “Smart Religion” developed by the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission of Henan Province. According to ChinaAid, applicants must fill in personal information, including their name, phone number, government ID number, permanent residence, occupation, and date of birth before they can make a reservation. Henan, located in the east-central part of the country, has one of the largest Christian populations in China — as much as 6% — according to a 2012 government survey. The communist government of China is officially secular.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253810/chinese-province-rolls-out-reservation-app-for-religious-believers
Britain’s House of Commons approved legislation Tuesday to create “buffer zones” around abortion facilities that would prohibit a wide range of behavior, including silent prayer. An amendment to exempt prayer and consensual conversation was voted down by lawmakers, who added the buffer zones to the Public Order Bill. The final vote came the day after a pro-life woman was arrested in Birmingham for the second time for praying silently in an alleged violation of a local buffer zone law. Opponents of the legislation decried the bill’s passage as a strike against individual liberty in the United Kingdom. The bill would create a buffer zone of 150 meters, about 492 feet, outside abortion facilities in England and Wales. It bars intimidation, harassment, or interference toward those seeking or providing abortions. Violation would be punished with a fine, a change from a previously proposed penalty that called for a prison sentence.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253814/uk-parliament-bans-pro-life-outreach-and-prayer-near-abortion-facilities
Today, the Church celebrates Saint John of God. Born in Portugal in 1495, John lived through decades of sin and suffering before a profound conversion that led him to embrace poverty, humility and charity. Saint John of God was canonized in 1690, and has become the patron of hospitals and the dying.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-john-of-god-confessor-171