Junno Arocho Esteves Critics of an agreement signed between the Vatican and the Chinese government must be patient and not quick to judge a deal that is meant to protect religious freedom, the Vatican Secretary of State has said. After addressing a symposium on religious freedom on April 3, Cardinal Pietro Parolin told journalists…
Junno Arocho Esteves In confession, the privacy of one’s conscience before God, also known as the internal forum, must always be protected and not be used to influence decisions outside the confessional, Pope Francis said. Departing from his prepared text in a speech to priests and seminarians attending an annual conference on the internal forum…
Dale Gavlak Jordan’s King Abdullah II urged greater co-operation to take on serious challenges worldwide as he was awarded a top Catholic peace prize by the Conventual Franciscans of the Sacred Convent of Assisi in central Italy. The annual award, known as the Lamp of Peace, recognises King Abdullah’s promotion of peace in the…
To better protect minors and vulnerable adults from all forms of abuse and exploitation, Pope Francis approved a new law and a set of safeguarding guidelines for Vatican City State and the Roman Curia. Pope Francis established the new norms and legal, criminal and safeguarding procedures with an apostolic letter given motu proprio (on his…
A Chilean appeals court has ruled in favour of three survivors of abuse by former priest Fernando Karadima and ordered the Catholic Church to pay damages. In a decision announced yesterday, the court ordered the Church to pay 100 million pesos (€4,594,271) for “moral damages” to each of the survivors: Juan Carlos Cruz, Jose Andres…
Hannah Brockhaus The ‘daily bread’ asked of God in the ‘Our Father’ is for everyone, and Christians will be judged by how well they shared their gifts with those in need, Pope Francis said yesterday. “Let’s get this in our heads: food is not private property, but providence to be shared with the grace…
An Irish charity has hit out at new figures which show that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Ireland is on a record-breaking rise with over 10,000 suffering from the epidemic. Official statistics from the Department of Housing, released yesterday, show that there is now a combined total of 10,264 people homeless and living…
EXCLUSIVE Dublin diocese looks set to divert funds previously reserved for future priestly training to pay lay pastoral parish workers instead. It is believed this initiative comes straight from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and is to be debated this week by the Dublin priests’ council. The move comes as the shortage of trainee priests continues…
Irish Muslims should be “advocating far more loudly” for the rights of persecuted Christian Asia Bibi, who continues to be prevented from leaving Pakistan after blasphemy charges were dropped against her, a prominent Christian rights charity has said. National director of the organisation Aid to the Church in Need, Dr Michael Kinsella, has urged Muslims…
Moves towards a parish-based ‘apprenticeship’ model of priestly formation would mean the end of the national seminary at Maynooth, a former professor at the college has said. Calling for prospective clergy to study theology in Trinity College Dublin rather than at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Boston College’s Prof. Oliver Rafferty SJ told The Irish Catholic that any…
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