Cindy Wooden From the beginning of his pontificate 10 years ago, Pope Francis set out to reform the structure and attitudes of the Roman Curia and knew he also had to reform the Vatican’s financial system and stewardship of resources. One month after his election, he announced he was forming an international Council of Cardinals…
Mary DeTurris Poust Back when my husband and I taught a two-year confirmation prep program at our parish, many of the students in our class were attending because they had to be there. They did the work, asked good questions, trudging through the weekly evening sessions, but faith formation was just one more requirement on…
Justin McLellan When Pope Francis greeted the thousands of faithful gathered in a rain-soaked St Peter’s Square March 13, 2013, he quipped that his brother cardinals looked almost to “the ends of the earth” to find a new bishop of Rome. The end of the world, in this case, was Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Pope…
Here is a timeline of some significant events in Pope Francis’ pontificate: 2013, March 13: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is elected pope on the second day of the conclave becoming the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European elected in almost 1,300 years. The Jesuit was also the…
In documents issued during his first 10 years in office, Pope Francis covered topics as diverse as strengthening one’s Faith, evangelisation, caring for creation, accompanying families and young people, and respecting indigenous peoples. He wrote a major document on reforming the Roman Curia, three encyclicals and five apostolic exhortations. Here is a list of his…
Gina Christian Pope Francis has evoked both praise and protest for his outreach to LGBTQ persons during his decade-long papacy, as he has offered warmth and welcome while upholding the Catholic Church’s teaching on human sexuality. “My experience of Pope Francis has been hope-filled and also frustrating,” Dr Ish Ruiz, a gay theologian and post-doctoral…
A homeless charity has decried the fact 4,741 people were given notices to leave their rented accommodation in the summer of last year, following data provided by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). The charity Depaul believes that while the Government’s decision to end the eviction ban should be reversed, now the consequences of the decision must…
Bishop Fleming welcomes Ukrainians to plant 500 trees Bishop of Killala John Fleming welcomed members of the Ukrainian community for the planting of 500 trees to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Bishop Fleming said he was delighted to welcome them, adding that “their lives have been uprooted and they have put down roots in…
In the face of adversity, our patron saint’s deep trust in God grew even stronger, writes Fr Eamonn Conway St Patrick faced three major challenges in his life. The first was when he was captured as a slave; the other two, when he returned to Ireland as a missionary bishop. Patrick was 15-years-old when he…
The German Synodal Way has voted to adopt “implementation texts” related to same-sex blessings, lay preaching during Mass, and a request for Pope Francis to re-examine the discipline of priestly celibacy in the Latin-rite Catholic Church. The votes took place during the first two days of the fifth synodal assembly in Frankfurt, Germany. The assembly…