Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini has said that he is praying there will be no schism in Germany, as priests and bishops in the country announce their disagreement with a document from the Vatican saying the Church cannot bless same-sex unions. In a May 4 interview with the newspaper Il Foglio, Cardinal Ruini said: “I hope…
President Joe Biden announced on May 3 he was raising the historically low refugee cap of 15,000 left by the Trump administration, but also warned that his administration may not be able to meet the new number of refugees it is seeking to resettle in what remains of the fiscal year: 62,500. In a statement,…
Mexican Church leaders offered prayers for the victims of a metro line collapse that left at least 23 dead and more than 70 people injured. Bishop Andrés Vargas Peña of Xochimilco – which serves three southern boroughs in Mexico City – offered condolences to the victims, while announcing each priest in the diocese would celebrate…
The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, released on May 1, 2021 a pastoral letter in which he insisted that any Catholic cooperating with the evil of abortion should refrain from receiving the Eucharist. “It is fundamentally a question of integrity: to receive the Blessed Sacrament in the Catholic liturgy is to espouse publicly the…
Pope to institute formal ‘ministry of catechist’ While millions of laypeople around the world are recognised as catechists in their parish or diocese, Pope Francis is preparing to formally institute the “ministry of catechist”. The Vatican press office said May 5 that Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Antiquum Ministerium (“Ancient Ministry”), instituting the ministry, would be…
Man charged in 2020 arson at Californian church Authorities announced charges against a suspected arsonist who investigators believe ignited an overnight fire that gutted much of Mission San Gabriel last July. Officials charged John David Corey Jr, 57, with a number of felony counts of arson, as well as possession of flammable material and first-degree…
As India continues to add more than 300,000 Covid-19 patients daily, Catholic leaders have suggested ways to meet the needs of the thousands approaching their health facilities. “Our hospitals are full and there is no scope for fresh admissions unless the patients in the hospitals are discharged,” Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore told UCA News…
While Bishop-designate Christian Carlassare already has forgiven his attackers, he said finding the truth about why he was shot in the legs at his home in Rumbek, South Sudan, will help achieve reconciliation. The Italian-born bishop-designate, 43, was responding to news that three local priests were among the 12 people arrested for their possible involvement…
An initiative aimed at protecting minors from sexual abuse that has reshaped how the Catholic Church safeguards children is ready to take the next step. On September 1, the Centre for Child Protection at the Gregorian University in Rome will become the Institute of Anthropology, Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care, or IADC. The…
Thomas Sternberg, 69, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, announced April 23 he will not seek re-election to the post in November. Mr Sternberg assumed the highest office of Germany’s Catholic lay organisation in 2015. The German Catholic news agency KNA reported the organisation will be forced to find new leadership in the…