Honouring a priest shot at point-blank range by the Mafia, Pope Francis has insisted that true happiness and a real change in Sicilian society will come only when people love and care for one another rather than trying to grab as much money and power as they can. “Having always leads to wanting. I have…
A Church of England (CofE) archbishop has been accused of hypocrisy after criticising Amazon’s tax practices, despite the church being one of its largest investors. In a homily last week the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, attacked the company for paying “almost nothing in taxes” and “leaching off the taxpayer”. Archbishop Welby also described zero-hour…
A 350-page document leaked to German media documents nearly 3,700 cases of alleged sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, deacons and clergy in Germany over a 68-year period. The release of the document caused shock in Germany, with many criticising the German bishops’ conference for its detailed knowledge of the abuse and their silence…
Christians in the US have taken the Trump administration to task for a dramatic drop in the numbers of persecuted Christian and other refugees being admitted into the country, even though administration officials promised last year to help. While administration officials vowed on several occasions to help Christians in the Middle East facing what Vice…
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston struck a determinedly hopeful tone after his long-awaited meeting with Pope Francis to discuss the growing sexual abuse crisis in the US. “I myself am filled with hope,” he said, “but I also realise all these things might take purpose and time.” The cardinal spoke following a noon meeting last…
Three Baltic countries prepare for papal visit Pope Francis will travel to the eastern periphery of Europe to honour a Faith that withstood a Nazi invasion and five decades of communist dictatorship and now is striving to help people live in freedom as authentic Disciples of Christ. The Pope’s visit from September 22-25 to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia comes in the…
The Church needs bishops who promote unity, “not soloists singing their own tune or captains fighting personal battles”, Pope Francis told new bishops from the Church’s mission territories. “And, dear brothers, flee from clericalism, an anomalous way of understanding the Church’s authority, one common in many communities where sexual abuse and the abuse of power…
The Vatican is set to respond to claims made by the former papal nuncio to the US which include allegations that Pope Francis covered up abuse. A statement was released by the Council of Cardinals this week which stated they were “aware that in the current debate” of recent weeks the Holy See is about…
The New York State Office of the Attorney General is the latest to announce that it is launching an investigation of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic Church clergy, and at least two of the state’s eight dioceses confirmed receiving subpoenas seeking access to its records. In a September 6 press release, the agency said…
Millions of devotees joined this year’s observance in the Philippines of the devotion to the Our Lady of Penafrancia. The wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, supposedly a copy of the original image in Spain, has been venerated in Naga City, in the Philippines’ Bicol region since the 1700s. A Spanish priest supposedly ordered a local…