Calls made for arrest of bishop accused of abuse A criminal prosecutor in Argentina has requested the arrest of Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, who is accused of sexually abusing two seminarians. Bishop Zanchetta is suspended from a position at the Vatican’s central bank, where he was appointed an ‘assessor’ by Pope Francis in 2017. He is…
Category: World Report
In Brief
French mayor apologises over nun garb ‘blunder’ An elderly nun in France has received an apology from a French mayor after retirement home staff wrongly rejected her, citing a strict ban on religious garb and “ostentatious” signs of religion. The rules would have barred the nun from wearing her religious habit and veil at the…
Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified on December 21
Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified on December 21, Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria announced late Monday. He said the Vatican had just notified him of the beatification and he was announcing the news “with great joy and thanksgiving”. Plans for the beatification are already underway, the bishop said. The ceremony will be at 10am…
Don’t settle for mediocrity and seek the truth, Francis tells students
Pope Francis has told students never to be afraid of their desire for truth and never settle for mediocrity. He encouraged them to live with open hearts and minds, and not just stick with the predominant mindset in a world that believes diversity is conflict. “May you feel a healthy ambition to add something original…
Heated debate over Notre-Dame rebuilding project
Tensions are reportedly running high between French authorities overseeing the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, as they create plans to rebuild the church damaged by fire earlier this year. Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin and the architect on the project, Philippe Villeneuve, disagree over whether the cathedral’s new spire should look modern or medieval, the…
In Brief
Belgian bishops criticise proposed abortion measures Belgium’s Catholic bishops have criticised legislation to liberalise abortion by extending the right to 18 weeks’ gestation with just 48 hours of obligatory reflection. The bishops said the proposed measures would change the meaning of abortion by making it a “normal medical procedure” and that the changes had not…
Bishops plead for peace after resignation of Bolivian president
The Bolivian bishops have urged an end to the vandalism that has taken place following the resignation of president Evo Morales on Sunday. Supporters of Morales have clashed with police in several cities. In a November 10 message, the bishops’ conference, along with several civic groups, encouraged “Bolivians to peace and to not commit acts…
Most US Catholics in support of couples cohabiting before marriage
Nearly three quarters of Catholics in the US are not opposed to couples cohabiting before marriage, despite the Church’s moral teaching. A new survey by the Pew Research Centre reports that Americans as a whole are very accepting of unmarried couples living together, even if they have no plans to marry. Additionally, Pew found that…
Brazil carnival puts Jesus as central theme for 2020
One of Brazil’s most traditional samba schools – the popular associations that organise annual Carnival parades in the country – announced that the theme of its 2020 performance would be the story of Jesus taken to a Rio de Janeiro slum. Estacao Primeira de Mangueira also announced its performance song, which alludes to the increasing…
Bishops mark 30 years since fall of Berlin Wall
Catholic bishops from the European Union marked 30 years since the breaching of the Berlin Wall with tributes to those who worked for peaceful change, as well as warnings against resurgent “ideologies behind the building of walls”. “The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most important events in European history of the…