The grisly murders of missionary priests and a local priest, a lay volunteer and 40 seminarians in Burundi are the focus of a recently opened investigation into their sainthood cause. Catholic bishops in this central African nation welcomed the step petitioned to the Vatican by the Xaverian Missionaries, founded in 1898 by St Guido Conforti…
As neighbouring countries try to mediate an ongoing trade war between Japan and South Korea, one bishop has stepped into the ring urging both sides to “rational dialogue” in solving their problems without further escalation. Bishop Taiji Katsuya of Sapporo, president of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace, issued a statement earlier this…
Indian police arrested six suspected members of a hard-line Hindu group for attacking 40 Catholics taking part in a 280-mile pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in Velankanni in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The attackers were accused of blocking the pilgrims on a public road last week and beating and verbally abusing them, a…
Catholic university steps up on abuse prevention – Pontiff A specialised centre at Chile’s premier Catholic university can help the Church protect minors and vulnerable persons from the scourge of clerical sexual abuse, which has plagued the Church in the country and around the world, Pope Francis has said. In a video message played on August 15 during the inaugural ceremony of the…
Devil is a symbol, not a person – Church official The superior general of the Society of Jesus has said that the Devil is a symbolic reality, not a person. The Devil, “exists as the personification of evil in different structures, but not in persons…he is not a person like a human person. It is…
Amid ongoing civil unrest in Hong Kong, Catholics and other Christians have been urged to take a “major role” in protests against the government, as speculation of imminent military intervention from China continues to grow. “For this movement, it’s a great chance for the Catholics and [Protestant] Christians to cooperate with each other,” the acting…
In advance of a mandated national third-party reporting system for allegations or complaints regarding bishops, the Catholic dioceses of four New England states have launched a third-party, independent system to report abuse by Catholic bishops. The dioceses in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine make up the Boston Province, led by Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley,…
Catholic leaders in Congo have gathered more than 1.5 million signatures on a petition that demands local elections to curb corruption and strengthen democracy. “Democracy must have roots right down to (the) local level, and people must be allowed to designate who governs them,” said Msgr Andre Massinganda, deputy secretary-general of the Congolese bishops’ conference.…
The Archbishop of Melbourne has said he is prepared to defy a proposed new law that would force priests in the Australian state of Victoria to violate the seal of Confession. The proposed legislation would include priests in mandatory reporting laws in cases of child sexual abuse, without any priest-penitent exceptions. “Personally, I’ll keep the…
The Mexican bishops’ conference has expressed concerns over a Supreme Court decision that upheld a health norm allowing access to abortion in public clinics if a woman has been the victim of sexual violence. “We say clearly: Respect for the right to life cannot be infringed upon by the circumstances in which a human being…