Philadelphia’s mayor has characterised as “not Christian” guidelines issued by an archbishop on a papal document on marriage and the family. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia recently released pastoral guidelines in the wake of Pope Francis’s post-synodal exhortation Amoris Laetitia. In the guidelines, one of the topics addressed was divorced and civilly remarried Catholics living Read more
The Catholic Church in Pennsylvania has been accused of mafia-like tactics in a campaign to put pressure on lawmakers. The Church is lobbying against proposed state legislation that would give victims of sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers. Archbishop Charles Chaput inadvertently sent an email to a state representative accusing him of “betraying” Read more
An archbishop known for his conservative views is to co-ordinate a committee of US bishops working on the implementation of Amoris Laetitia. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia will lead a working group of five bishops. The group’s purpose is “to support our Holy Father in furthering the reception Read more
A US archbishop has put the collapse of evangelical life in some European churches down to certain pastoral practices on the sacraments. In an article to be published in the journal First Things next month, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia criticised pastoral approaches that ignore the call to conversion. He wrote about divorced and civilly Read more
Former Irish President Mary McAleese has been in a testy exchange with a US archbishop over whether homosexuals are “disordered”. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia spoke to media about Ms McAleese’s recent claim that the Church’s description of homosexuality as “instrinsically disordered” with a tendency to “evil” led to homophobia. The archbishop stated: “I’ve read Read more
Bishop Charles Drennan of Palmerston North has acknowledged talk of factions at the synod on the family, but he has a different take on the supposed splits. In a blog post on the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference website, Bishop Drennan said there is a “marked air of openness” at the synod and no topics are Read more
A liturgical music specialist who was to have a key role in preparations for a US papal Mass has resigned over differences with his archbishop. John Romeri resigned as head of liturgical music for Philadelphia archdiocese, effective on June 30. It was a role Dr Romeri held for five years. It is unclear what role Read more
Pope Francis is to make his first trip to the United States as the head of the Catholic Church in September, the Vatican said Tuesday, NZ time. He will travel to the World Meeting of the Families, said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi. The Catholic public event, which celebrates the family as the basic Read more
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has decried critics who have charged that the recent synod on the family caused confusion for Catholics. Archbishop Martin said he was “quite surprised at the remarks of some commentators within church circles about the recent synod of bishops, often making accusations of confusion where such confusion did not exist Read more
An American archbishop has suggested Catholic priests protest against same-sex marriage laws by refusing to sign any civil marriage certificates. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia urged the US bishops to consider this in response to what he called the “new marriage regime” of same-sex civil marriage. In a lecture in New York on October 20, Archbishop Read more