Pope Francis is sending the Church’s leading abuse investigator to Chile in order to look into accusations that a bishop covered up crimes against children. The Pontiff has asked Malta’s Archbishop Charles Scicluna to go to the country on behalf of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, to listen to those who say they…

The German bishops’ conference has decided to stick with traditional translations of the Lord’s Prayer. The decision comes after the French bishops decided that beginning early December last year, French Catholics would change the line, “Lead us not into temptation,” to the equivalent of “do not let us enter into temptation.” The common Spanish translation…

True preaching is a ‘slap’, something startling and challenging, rather than comforting and reassuring, Pope Francis said in this morning’s homily at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican. Noting that St Paul did not soften his proclamation of the Faith with half-truths, the Pope said that preaching “cannot be lukewarm”. “Preaching always – let me…

Carol Glatz   To help parishes, groups, individuals and families better prepare for the World Meeting of Families, Vatican organizers are releasing a multimedia series of catechetical materials in five languages online. The Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life announced that starting February 2, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, it would…

Pope Francis apologised to victims of clergy sex abuse, saying he unknowingly wounded them by the way he defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse by his mentor. Speaking with journalists on his flight to Rome from Lima, Peru, the Pope said he only realised later that his words erroneously implied that victims’…

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across the US on Friday for the annual March for Life, with this year’s theme being ‘Love Saves Lives’. The march marks the US Supreme courts decision in 1973 to legalise abortion. President Donald Trump made a very public show of support for the campaign with his address to…

Fishermen held a fluvial procession in the southern Philippine city of General Santos in Mindanao to honour the Santo Nino, or the Child Jesus. At least 200 fishing vessels of all sizes took part in the procession, an annual event that started 40 years ago to show thanks to the Lord for the bounty people get…

The decision to invite Scotland’s First Minister of State to speak at a major lecture focusing on Catholic education was defended by a native bishop following criticism from pro-life advocates. The 2019 Cardinal Winning Lecture is held after Catholic education week each year, however this year marks the Centenary of the Catholic Education Scotland Act…

Church leaders in South Sudan and Congo wonder if they have laboured in vain because too often their own people are waging war against each other, a Sudanese priest said during a meeting of hundreds of men and women from dozens of religious orders. The root of the conflict, Fr Maurice Ibiko said, is “the…

All
 faiths 
must
 protect
 Jerusalem’s
 current 
status Christians, Muslims and Jews who are sincere about their faith must be committed to protecting the special character of Jerusalem and to praying and working for peace in the Holy Land, Pope Francis wrote in a letter to the grand imam of Egypt’s al-Azhar University. Only a special, internationally guaranteed statute on the status…