The 15th annual report on the implementation of the US bishops’ ‘Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People’ shows a decrease in allegations of clergy sex abuse from the two previous years. It also indicates the need for continued vigilance since charges were raised by more than 650 adults and 24 minors. The…
A new Vatican document cautions against the dangers of highly competitive children’s sports, political and economic pressures on athletes to win “at all costs” and the unsportsmanlike or violent behaviour of fans. The document on sports also calls on every group or institution sponsoring sports programmes to have expert-guided child protection policies in place and…
Junno Arocho Esteves Peace is a gift that can easily be destroyed through petty gossip and speaking ill of others, Pope Francis said. People who receive and give the sign of peace “should be men and women of peace” and not ruin “the peace made by the Holy Spirit with your tongue”, the pope…
David Agren The Archdiocese of Mexico City and SNAP Mexico – the Mexican chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests – have agreed to work cooperatively to protect children, promote healing and pursue justice in the cases of paedophile prelates. The archdiocese and SNAP Mexico said in a joint statement on June…
Elise Harris The Vatican announced today that to help with the process of healing in Chile, Pope Francis will send Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu to the diocese of Osorno, and will issue a pastoral letter on the nation’s abuse crisis. A May 31 statement from Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said in…
A papal foundation is tackling modern-day slavery as reports have surfaced that hundreds of trafficked victims have died building facilities that will be used to host the football World Cup in Qatar in 2022. In October 2017, during an encounter Pope Francis had with the Pontifical Scholas Occurrentes foundation, Argentine Guillermo Whpei, President of the…
A Virgin Mary statue at a Hispanic Catholic church in southeastern New Mexico is drawing visitors from around the region because it appears tears are flowing from the statue’s face. Visitors of the bronze statue located inside the auxiliary building of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church said the statue wept. “There were tears coming down…
Veterans taking part in the 2018 Warriors to Lourdes pilgrimage to France said the journey has positively influenced their lives and benefited those around them. Maj. Jeremy Haynes, a first-time spiritual pilgrim and Lourdes visitor, said he is a changed man since visiting the shrine, where Mary appeared to St Bernadette Soubirous in a series…
Church social action charity Caritas has rushed to distribute thousands of face-masks and provide eye drops to people living in Indonesia’s Semarang Archdiocese following a series of volcanic eruptions. Considered one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, Mount Merapi, in central Java, has seen at least nine eruptions over the last month, sending steam and ash clouds…
In the aftermath of Iraq’s elections, Christians want to see a government formed that is free from the sectarianism that has torn apart the country, and they want Iran’s influence to diminish. Both issues have played a huge role in politics since the 2003 US-led invasion. Fr Emanuel Youkhana, a priest of the Assyrian Church…
