It is no fun being a bishop these days. After the recent resignations of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon and Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris, and then the controversial legacies left by Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cattenoz in Avignon and Bishop Emmanuel Lafont in Cayenne (French Guyana), as well as the severe sanction that forced the Diocese Read more
The Vatican announced on Friday that Pope Francis has been forced to cancel his July 2-7 visit to two countries in Africa due to a knee ailment, the exact nature of which it has never made public. The abrupt cancellation of the trip, which had just been confirmed on May 28, intensified concerns over the Read more
The Archbishop of Dublin has acknowledged that his diocese, the largest in Ireland, is facing “great challenges” due to a shortage of priests. Archbishop Dermot Farrell (pictured) has pledged to respond “positively and swiftly” to new proposals put forward by his parishes to deal with the challenge. “We face a particular challenge in the shortage Read more
Dioceses in northern Vietnam are building new churches to replace those damaged or abandoned during the Vietnam War. An estimated one million people, including clergy and religious, moved to the south of the country after communist forces defeated French troops and took control of the north in 1954. Local Catholics suffered religious restrictions. They were Read more
Meet any group of Catholics today and within minutes someone will mention that their diocese or local area is undergoing a “re-organization”. Parishes are being combined, the ordained ministers being spread more thinly around communities, and the access to gathering for Eucharistic activity is being curtailed. The process is sometimes given an elegant name derived Read more
Do you remember the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000? Did it make any difference in your life at the time? Has it had any lasting impact on your life and faith? Preparation for the Great Jubilee began on Nov. 10, 1994, when Pope John Paul II issued his apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (As Read more
Highlighting the importance of forgiveness, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, says Prince Andrew is trying to “make amends”. His comments refer to Andrew’s fall from grace following accusations of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre two decades ago when she was 17. Although he did not admit wrongdoing, the Queen’s son paid an undisclosed sum earlier Read more
Food has become a discretionary item in many people’s budgets. Its low priority is just one of the changes Delphina Soti, General Manager of the St Vincent de Paul food Hub in Auckland is seeing. Covid has a long tail and there are many layers of need in the community, she says. “There’s a lot Read more
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone assures us that his decree barring U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving holy Communion has nothing to do with politics: “I assure you that my action here is purely pastoral, not political.” The assurance is laughable. As Melinda Henneberger pointed out in the Sacramento Bee, Cordileone’s claim is “a silly thing Read more
There is a real danger in NZ Politics that when you attack policy as racist to Māori we play the ‘is it racist’ game where everyone screams it is or isn’t, everyone goes back to their polarised corners, nothing progresses. We’ve done it with Police shootings, we’ve done it with Police taking photos of kids Read more