Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest following his conviction for failing to inform police about child sexual abuse allegations. Magistrate Robert Stone announced the sentence in Newcastle Lower Court July 3 and ordered an assessment of the 67-year-old archbishop to determine his suitability to serve the sentence at…

Defending the weak or hopeless and becoming a servant to those most in need is the best promotion one can ever receive, Pope Francis told new and old cardinals. “None of us must feel ‘superior’ to anyone. None of us should look down at others from above. The only time we can look at a…

Elise Harris   In his latest move on the Chilean clerical abuse crisis, Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela Abarca of Talca, and Bishop Alejandro Goić Karmelić of Rancagua, both of whom have come under fire for their reaction to abuse allegations. Valenzuela, 64, is one of four bishops…

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said last week he will no longer exercise any public ministry “in obedience” to the Vatican after an allegation he abused a teenager 47 years ago was found credible. Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, where Cardinal McCarrick served as its first bishop, said in a statement…

A Vatican court has found Msgr Carlo Alberto Capella, a former staff member at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography. Judge Giuseppe Della Torre, head of the tribunal of the Vatican City State sentenced Msgr Capella to five years in prison and fined him €5,000. The Vatican press office…

The question of allowing Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion at Mass in special cases has to be decided by each individual bishop and cannot be decided by a bishops’ conference, Pope Francis told reporters after a one-day ecumenical journey to Geneva. During an inflight news conference the Pope was asked about his recent…

Calling torture a “mortal sin,” Pope Francis called on Christians to help victims of this crime against human rights. Marking the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture yesterday, June 26, the Pope tweeted: “Torture is a mortal sin! Christian communities must commit themselves to helping victims of torture.” The Pope has spoken…

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 yesterday, June 26, that a California law that placed requirements on crisis pregnancy centres that oppose abortion violated the First Amendment. In its decision in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, the court found that the law changes the content of the clinic’s speech “by…

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 yesterday, June 26, that a California law that placed requirements on crisis pregnancy centres that oppose abortion violated the First Amendment. In its decision in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, the court found that the law changes the content of the clinic’s speech “by…