Two days after a naked man stood on the high altar of St Peter’s Basilica in a shocking security breach, the basilica’s archpriest on Saturday held a penitential rite as required by canon law in cases where sacred places are desecrated. Vatican News reported that the unidentified man was a Polish national who approached the…
The Vatican is looking into the transfer of $17 million (€15.8 million) from the US arm of a Church mission to an investment fund, according to the Associated Press. AP reported May 31 that Pope Francis has asked aides to “get to the bottom of how” the money was transferred. The transfers date mostly to…
The Archdiocese of Piura in northern Peru donated thousands of doses of medication May 30 to the government’s Regional Health Directorate (DIRESA) to combat the epidemic of dengue fever that has affected almost all regions of the country, especially Lambayeque and Piura. Dengue is a virus that is transmitted to humans through mosquitoes and can…
Pope Francis June 1 accepted the resignation of an Indian bishop cleared in early 2022 of charges of raping a religious sister in his diocese. The resignation of the 59-year-old Bishop Franco Mulakkal as head of the Diocese of Jalandhar comes more than 16 months after his acquittal by a court in India’s Kerala state…
We all need to learn how to forgive and how to be reconciled in this imperfect world, writes Dr Joseph White Forgiveness is a thread that runs throughout the story of our faith. In the Garden of Eden, we see the frailty of human relationships, both with God and one another. Throughout our history, we…
Letter from Rome Justin McLellan The flag of Vatican City, yellow and white with crossed keys under the papal tiara, is incorrect in many emojis, flying outside the United Nations and often even on Vatican buildings. Through confusion possibly caused by an erroneous Wikipedia entry, the Vatican flags waving outside its buildings and sold in…
Fulgence Kayishema, a former Rwandan police officer who is suspected of having ordered the killing of at least 2,000 Tutsis who were seeking refuge at St Paul’s Nyange Catholic Parish in the current Nyundo Diocese during the 1994 genocide, has been arrested in South Africa. Reuters reported May 25 that Kayishema, one of the top suspects…
The new leader of a charity targeting Christian persecution around the world is from the North of Ireland and will serve for five years. The international pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will be led by Regina Lynch from June 14. She is a long-serving project director for the charity. Ms Lynch…
Deacon Greg Kandra June 11 – Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 1 Cor 10:16-17 Jn 6:51-58 Years ago, I heard the story of a priest who was getting ready for Sunday Mass. While puttering around in the sacristy, he reached into a storage cabinet, took a plastic…
The Pope at War – The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini and Hitler by David I. Kertzer (Oxford University Press, €29.00/£25.99) Dermot Keogh The decision in 2019 of Pope Francis to open the Vatican archives for World War II and beyond, becoming operational on March 2, 2020, is a significant milestone on the long…