Ordinations of new Catholic priests in Britain have fallen to one tenth of the number in 1965, and marriages and baptisms have also dropped significantly. Details of the declines have been revealed for the first time by the compilation of statistics for these sacraments over the past century. The figures were compiled by the Latin Read more
The conviction of a Philadelphia abortionist for murdering three babies born alive during abortions reveals “the ugliness of abortion”, said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. “We need to stop cloaking the ugliness of abortion with misnomers like ‘proper medical coverage’ or ‘choice’,” he said. “It’s violence of the most intimate sort, and it needs to Read more
The Vatican has confirmed that the Vatican Bank, the Institute for Religious Works, will start publishing its balance sheets online by the end of 2013. The news was announced by the bank’s new president, Ernst von Freyberg, in a meeting with bank staff. He said that other documents would also be made public on a Read more
Some of New Zealand’s leading charities are keen to attract private investors for social programmes such as cutting crime and addictions. A pilot proposal for “social bonds”, where private investors put up the initial capital and the Government repays them with interest if target outcomes are met, has attracted 62 expressions of interest in a Read more
New Zealand’s oldest and biggest Anglican church is asking the Auckland Council for $3 million of ratepayers’ money for renovations. The Holy Trinity Cathedral in the suburb of Parnell needs to raise a total of $12 million for what it calls essential upgrades. Continue reading
A decision on whether a former Catholic brother and convicted paedophile will be extradited to Australia to face 252 sexual abuse charges has been delayed Continue reading
A spokesman for the Catholic bishops of England and Wales has denied telling politicians that a Catholic marrying into the royal family would be released from the usual obligation to ensure that children were raised as Catholics. “I wish to state clearly that neither I, nor the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, have ever, Read more
Pope Francis has agreed that Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct, should leave Scotland “for several months” for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance. This news, which had been rumoured for some weeks, was confirmed by the Vatican press office in a brief statement issued in both English and Read more
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa has visited workers retrieving the bodies of those killed when a container ship collided into a control tower in the Italian port. Besides offering support and prayers at the site of the crash, Cardinal Bagnasco also visited survivors in hospital, the Apostleship of the Sea reported. Continue reading
On saturday the Bishop of Taranaki, Philip Richardson, officially took up his new role of Archbishop of the Anglican Church in New Zealand in front of a packed Taranaki Cathedral. Following the ceremony Richardson said the support he had received in taking up the position of archbishop was humbling. “I think the extraordinary level of Read more