Pope Francis has laicised Bishop Emeritus of Bruges, Belgium, Roger Vangheluwe, years after the former prelate admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing his nephew when the latter was a minor. The apostolic nunciature to Belgium said in a statement last week that “serious new elements” had come to light regarding ex-bishop Vangheluwe, who resigned in 2010 after…
‘Did you hear…?’ In our modern information-saturated age, those three little words say a lot. They sum up so much of how we live. Face it: We are bombarded incessantly by news. Our phones buzz, cable news squawks, social media chirps and pings. There’s a lot going on out there. What are we missing? Almost…
I’ve been catching up on a few TV drama series that have religious themes. The best of the lot is Kim’s Convenience (Netflix), a comedy about a Korean family running a convenience store in Toronto. The characters are believable and likeable, even the minor characters are very funny, particular the random customers, even if they…
One of the curious facts of 2,000 years of Christian history is the readiness with which Christians will dispute their traditions and the dates appropriate to them, especially in relation to the nature, date and place of Easter, the most important date in the whole Christian calendar that is celebrated this weekend. Historically, the…
Bonn/Pristina (KNA) The only Catholic bishop in Kosovo would like to see more stability in his country. Political and social tensions still persist 25 years after the NATO mission in the former Yugoslavia, lamented 2 on Friday. The bishop of the Prizren-Pristina diocese blamed Serbian politicians, among others, for this. However, the 61-year-old cleric admitted…
Regensburg (KNA) The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has rejected Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller’s criticism of its approach to political extremism. “The German bishops are neither opportunistic nor anti-democratic when they take part in demonstrations against the right or the left,” Matthias Kopp, press spokesman for the Bishops’ Conference, told the newspapers of the Bavarian Media Group…
Brussels (KNA) Roger Vangheluwe, Catholic Bishop of Bruges until 2010, is no longer a priest. Pope Francis has expelled him from the clergy, the papal nunciature in Brussels announced on Thursday. The now 87-year-old resigned as diocesan bishop in April 2010 after it became known that he had sexually abused a nephew for years. Vangheluwe…
EXCLUSIVE True witness to the Faith is the answer to declining vocations in Ireland, not married priests, the Vatican’s cardinal for clergy has insisted during a visit to Knock shrine, Co. Mayo. Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy told The Irish Catholic that there are those who call for an…
The Church in Ireland’s safeguarding culture and structures have “greatly improved” in the past 10 years, according to a report from the national safeguarding body. “A lot of progress has been made, and plans are in place to advance this further,” the overview report from the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church…
Christians in the birthplace of Christ hope for the return of Irish pilgrims after a plea from a Palestinian bishop to support for the local Christian population. Bethlehem Christians are “still in darkness” due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, but they hope to see pilgrims return soon, local guides and shop owners told The Irish…
Brandon Scott
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones