The Texas Supreme Court agreed June 5 to review an appeal by the Diocese of Lubbock over a former deacon’s defamation lawsuit against it. The suit, which lower courts said could proceed, sought more than $1 million in damages from the diocese claiming it had falsely included the former deacon in its published list last Read more
The Catholic Church in England and Wales has received a 1 million pound ($1.3 million) donation to fight poverty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The money was donated by the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, founded by the late billionaire businessman Albert Gubay, who made a pact with God in his youth that if he became Read more
Facing a shortage of priests and decreased revenue, the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit announced this week an ambitious new reorganization plan that will create what it calls “families of parishes,” grouping three to six churches together that will share priests and resources. The plan — to be carried out over two years — is different Read more
New Zeland is not free from the culture wars that plague the United States. A Black Lives Matter t-shirt sparked a fistfight on the steps of a small-town New Zealand church. John Whyte and his wife Jess wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts to church that Sunday in December 2019. “Why are you wearing such an Read more
Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington doubled down on his criticism of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine earlier this week, saying Friday that a place dedicated to the memory of the late Polish pope should have “never been used as a place for a political statement.” “Long before he Read more
Throughout Australia and New Zealand, Sanitarium Health Food Company has donated, so far in 2020, more than AU$1 million (about US$700,000) worth of food to help individuals and communities in need. Sanitarium in New Zealand is extending community support, including a new partnership with Kiwi Harvest. In early April, the first of 90 pallets of Read more
Vatican police on Friday arrested Gianluigi Torzi, an Italian middleman who was part of a controversial deal in which the Vatican used Church money to purchase a luxury building in London as an investment. Torzi, who was arrested after questioning by Vatican magistrates, was accused of extortion, embezzlement, aggravated fraud and money laundering, the Vatican Read more
The Vatican said Saturday the city state no longer has any active positive cases among employees, after a 12th person had tested positive in early May. According to the director of the Holy See press office, Matteo Bruni, as of June 6 there are no longer any coronavirus cases among Vatican and Holy See employees. Read more
Priests in the Polish diocese of Kalisz have refused to sign letters of loyalty to their bishop after a child abuse cover-up. More and more Catholics in Poland are calling on the Church to properly investigate crimes. The documentary “Hide and Seek” by Marek and Tomasz Sekielski, which was watched by almost 7 million people Read more
The New Zealand government’s Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) has reported that a survey of 3,000 people, conducted in April, found 34 per cent of households were in “financial difficulty.” A further 40 per cent were “at risk of tipping into hardship.” The survey was part of a study involving eight countries. New Zealand ranked Read more