Signalling his belief that the Church faces a serious crisis, Pope Francis asked every Catholic in the world to pray for the protection of the Church from attacks by the devil, and also for the Church to to be stronger in combatting abuse. Pope Francis asked Catholics to pray the rosary each day in October,…

Catholics will continue to regard sex outside marriage as a sin despite India’s Supreme Court ruling that adultery will no longer be a crime, Church leaders say. The country’s top court has struck down a 158-year-old British-era law which said it was a crime, punishable with a five-year jail term, for a man to have…

Be 
open 
to 
the 
good, 
regardless
 of 
origin 
–
 Pope Pope Francis has advised people to be open to the good, regardless of whether it comes from someone outside their own “circle”. The Pope reflected, during his Angelus address in St Peter’s Square, September 30, on the day’s Gospel, in which Christ taught his disciples humility and to avoid scandal. When the disciples objected…

Pope Francis has expelled from the priesthood a Chilean who gained notoriety for sexually abusing young men in his parish. The Vatican announced that Fernando Karadima was dismissed from the clerical state by the Pope, who “made this exceptional decision in conscience and for the good of the Church”. Citing canon law, the Vatican said…

Courtney Grogan   Pope Francis began the Synod on young people today with a homily calling for the Holy Spirit to renew hope and dynamism in the Church. Hope can “broaden our horizons, expand our hearts and transform those frames of mind that today paralyse, separate and alienate us from young people,” said Pope Francis.…

Due to its impact on young Catholics in Africa, fundamentalism will be a topic that bishops from East Africa prioritize in their talks with other delegates during the synod’s intervention sessions. More than 300 delegates, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, sisters and laypeople are expected to attend the Oct. 3-28 Synod of Bishops, which will meet…

The Pope has ordered the laicisation of Fernando Karadima, a Chilean priest convicted in 2011 of the sexual abuse of minors. He had previously been sentenced to a life of prayer and penance. Pope Francis made the “exceptional decision” to dismiss Karadima from the clerical state, “in conscience for the good of the Church”, according…

A well-known Chinese prelate has dubbed a new deal between the Vatican and China as a “betrayal” of Catholics in the country. For the first time in decades, all of the Catholic bishops in China are in full communion with the Pope, the Vatican announced. Cardinal Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, called on…

A Catholic priest has been kidnapped in Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso. Italian Fr Pierluigi Maccalli, a member of the Society of African Missions, was taken last week after suspected Islamist gunmen attacked his rectory in the village of Bamoanga. “The kidnapping happened at around 9pm. According to local residents, about eight men…