Pope Francis has expressed his grief for the loss of life caused by the sinking of a ferry in the Tigris River near the Iraqi city of Mosul. In a telegramme signed on his behalf by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope said he is deeply saddened to learn of the accident and expressed his prayerful…
Jonathan Luxmoore A close aide to St John Paul II has vigorously defended the late Pope’s handling of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and denied accusations that he ignored the problem during his 27-year pontificate. “Emerging opinions that John Paul II was sluggish in guiding the Church’s response to sexual abuse of minors by…
Christians have faith in a God who wants to and is able to transform the world, conquering evil with good, Pope Francis said. That is why “it makes sense to obey and abandon oneself” to God and his will, even during life’s most difficult moments, the Pope said yesterday during his general audience in St…
Church agencies have rallied together to help more than half-a-million people in dire need after a cyclone hit Southern Africa last week. It’s estimated that at least 1,000 people have died in Cyclone Idai which hit Mozambique on March 15, making landfall near the port city of Beira on Thursday with winds of up to…
New Zealand’s Catholic bishops have expressed horror and distress at a terrorist attack in two mosques in Christchurch that saw at least 50 people killed. The shootings took place at or near the Al Noor Mosque, where 41 people were killed, and at the Linwood Mosque, where seven were killed. One more person subsequently died…
Catholic justice and peace commissions have called for greater attention to social justice across the EU, urging political leaders to take steps to curb food waste, arms exports and multinational abuses. The Conference of European Justice and Peace Commissions said a “new and comprehensive European regional development policy” was needed to better serve the common…
The Church in Germany is at a point where serious debate – including on priestly celibacy and the role of women – and openness to doing things in a new way must encouraged, said the president of the German bishops’ conference. “Shakeups demand special proceedings,” Cardinal Reinhard Marx said at the end of the bishops’…
The headlines from a Gallup Poll about the growing number of US Catholics who have thought about leaving the Church because of the clergy abuse crisis did not faze one researcher of Catholic data too much. “There is a substantial difference between considering leaving and leaving. It is also the case among those who do…
Argentine bishops urge Pope to visit homeland In a letter commemorating the sixth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election, the bishops of Argentina said they will ask the Pope to visit his homeland. “In our next meeting with him, we will propose once again that he does not deprive himself of the joy of visiting us,” the Argentine bishops said in statement…
French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon said Pope Francis would not accept his resignation following his conviction for covering up clerical sexual abuse, so he has decided to step aside temporarily for the good of the archdiocese. The cardinal had met Pope Francis on March 18 to hand in his resignation after a French court…