Pope Francis announced he will create 21 new cardinals August 27. The Pope made the announcement at the end of his “Regina Coeli” address May 29, telling the crowd in St Peter’s Square the names of the 16 cardinals under the age of 80, who will be eligible to vote in a conclave, and the…
Native American tribal representatives are partnering with Catholic dioceses and religious congregations in uncovering vast amounts of information about the Church’s role in operating residential schools that for more than a century worked to assimilate Indigenous children into white society. Known as the Catholic Native Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project, or AHP, the effort…
Some US bishops spoke out against the easy accessibility to guns in the country following a May 24 rampage that left at least 19 children and two of their elementary school teachers dead in Uvalde, Texas. “Don’t tell me that guns aren’t the problem, people are. I’m sick of hearing it,” Bishop Daniel Flores of…
Bishops start fund to help displaced in Burkina Faso Tens of thousands of residents who have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict in Burkina Faso, prompting Church leaders to mobilise funds and aid to assist those facing difficulties due to the conflict. According to the International Crisis Group, the landlocked West African country with…
As a “first choice”, members of the Italian bishops’ conference decided to focus their study of clerical sexual abuse in the country on cases reported to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2000 to 2021. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the new president of the conference, told reporters May 27 that…
After the Catholic Church’s persistent call for humanitarian assistance in Tigray, the arrival of hundreds of aid trucks in the northern Ethiopia region is a sign of hope for millions of people driven to the brink of famine by war, said a Church source. Since the start of the war in November 2020, the Church…
Pope calls for stricter gun laws after Texas shooting Saying his heart was broken at the news of at least 19 children and two adults being shot and killed at a Texas elementary school, Pope Francis said it was time to say “Enough!” and enact stricter laws on gun sales. At the end of his…
San Francisco’s archbishop declared May 20 that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not “to be admitted” to Communion unless and until she publicly repudiates “support for abortion ‘rights’” and goes to confession and receives absolution “for her cooperation in this evil”. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said he decided to make this declaration “after numerous attempts to…
Madrid launches holy year in honour of St Isidore the Farmer Madrid has kicked off a holy year in honour of the 400th anniversary of the canonisation of its patron saint, St Isidore the Farmer. During the jubilee year, which will last until May 15, 2023, pilgrims can receive a plenary indulgence by praying at…
The Vatican hosted a virtual listening session with Catholics with disabilities May 19 as part of the Synod on Synodality process. People from more than 20 countries participated in the video call hosted by the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life on May 19, with some expressing concerns about experiences of discrimination and exclusion. A participant…