Christoph Cardinal Schönborn has declared he was “not happy with the explanation of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith”, since the message reported by the dicastery was “only a no”, and declared he would, under certain circumstances, bless same-sex unions. The CDF said March 15 that the Church hasn’t the power to bless…

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, 64, said he won’t resign following the publication of the report on the handling of clerical sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne. “To simply take the moral responsibility with me and to go to protect the reputation of the office of bishop and of the Church – I think that’s…

The Vatican announced March 20 that Pope Francis has designated the Archdiocese of Quito in Ecuador the host of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress. The conference, in its 53rd edition, will also take place during the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “This great ecclesial meeting will manifest…

Officer Eric Talley, an 11-year veteran of the Boulder Police Department, was the first to arrive at the scene of a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store the afternoon of March 22 and the first of 10 to be killed. A Catholic, Talley often stopped by St Martin de Porres Church just across…

Pope approves pay cuts for cardinals, top management at Vatican With the need to reduce costs and make sure employees are not laid off, Pope Francis has approved pay cuts for cardinals, clergy, religious and upper management officials who work in the Roman Curia and other Vatican entities. The pay cuts will go into effect…

Philippine bishop chides govt over church gatherings ban The Philippine government should have consulted Church leaders before trying to ban religious gatherings, Manila Archdiocese’s apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said March 24. His comment came in a pastoral letter in which he questioned a March 20 government order banning religious gatherings for two weeks to…

A much-anticipated report on the handling of abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Cologne exonerates Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki but Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Heße has requested “immediate release” from his duties following the report. The report by the law firm Gercke Wollschläger accuses Cardinal Woelki’s predecessors, the deceased Cardinals Joseph Höffner (1906-1987) and Joachim Meisner…

Faith leaders have an important role to play as the world continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the ups and downs of vaccine distribution, participants in a webinar heard. That role is based on trust and accurately sharing information, said Kathryn Kraft, senior research adviser for faith and development at World Vision International.…

Food, cooking fuel, jobs and, especially, hope are hard to come by in Syria, said two Catholic leaders reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the war. “We feel forgotten. The sanctions have thrown the country further into desperation: 83% of the population is below the poverty line. We can’t do it anymore. Enough,” said Maronite…