The retired archbishop of Strasbourg, France, admitted making “inappropriate gestures” to an adult woman when he was a Franciscan priest in the 1980s. Archbishop Jean-Pierre Grallet issued a public statement November 15. He said both a criminal investigation and canonical investigation were underway and that he would withdraw from speaking publicly during the investigations. He…
Pope Francis travels to share special meal with his cousins Pope Francis travelled to northern Italy on Saturday to celebrate the 90th birthday of his second cousin Carla Rabezzana with his Italian relatives. The 85-year-old Pope arrived by helicopter in the Italian province of Asti, 30 miles east of Turin, just before noon on November…
Pope Francis has continued to call on Russian and Ukrainian leaders to negotiate an end to the war, but the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church told him Russia wants only the destruction of Ukraine. Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych met Pope Francis November 7 at the Vatican, the first time the two have…
Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen wants the Catholic Church to take a new perspective on sexuality. “Same-sex feelings and love are not an aberration, but a variant of human sexuality,” he said in an interview with Deutsche Welle November 8. His remarks were reported by the German Catholic news agency, KNA. Homosexuals have a right…
The first auditor general of the Vatican and his deputy are suing the Secretariat of State for $9.25 million in damages. Libero Milone and Ferruccio Panicco are seeking compensation for loss of earnings, damage to their reputations, and emotional suffering. Mr Milone and Mr Panicco told reporters this week they also would submit records documenting…
A group of Catholic business leaders in the Philippines has forged an agreement to implement a cap on the prices of goods and commodities during the Christmas holiday season. The group of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs said the decision was made in order not to take advantage of the high demand during the Christmas season,…
A top court in the southern Indian state of Kerala has dismissed an appeal by Cardinal George Alencherry, who sought an exemption from appearing in a district court in cases related to his alleged involvement in the sale of Church lands. The November 9 decision of the Kerala High Court effectively means the head of…
Vatican confirms opening of abuse investigation of French cardinal The Vatican has decided to open an investigation into French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the retired archbishop of Bordeaux, who admitted in a public letter that he had abused a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. “As a result of the elements that have emerged in the last…
Pope: Seminaries don’t form ‘supermen’, but humble servants The mission of a seminary “is not to form ‘supermen’ who pretend to know and control everything”, but to help seminarians become priests who are humble servants of the communities they continue to belong to, Pope Francis said. “The Lord calls some of his disciples to be…
French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, former head of the French bishops’ conference, admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. The revelation came in a letter from Cardinal Ricard read by Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, president of the bishops’ conference, during a news conference on abuse November 7, during the French bishops’ general assembly. The…