Pope Francis has delivered a strong message to contemplative religious orders, saying nostalgia won’t save monasteries from closure or shifts in vocations. Addressing superiors and delegates from Discalced Carmelite monasteries in Rome, the pontiff stressed the need for adaptation to modern times. “Defensive strategies are the fruit of a nostalgic return to the past; this Read more
A controversial conference was initially canned by the mayor of Brussels, prompting German Cardinal Gerhard Müller to make Nazi comparisons. “This is like Nazi Germany” Müller said, according to a blog post by author Rod Dreher. Müller added that the authorities were acting “like the SA” — Hitler’s brownshirts who used violence and intimidation against Read more
A better world can happen but change for the better will materialise only when people are out in the world, “not lying on the couch” said Pope Francis. The pope was talking to a group of Italian schoolchildren saying that each of them can help make peace grow. The youngsters were all involved in the Read more
It seems having sexual feelings for children isn’t uncommon. A new UNSW Sydney and Jesuit Social Service study found one in five Australian men admitted having sexual feelings towards children and/or have sexually offended against children. That statistic shows the necessity of safeguarding children at early childhood education and care services, and places where children Read more
Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders, 74, is facing two fresh charges of indecent assault relating to incidents that allegedly happened eight years ago. These new charges add to his existing legal battle comprising 26 charges, including sexual penetration without consent, indecent dealing with a child, and unlawful and indecent assault. WA Police confirmed a Read more
Scotland’s only gender clinic for minors is formally pausing the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone medications that are designed to facilitate gender transitions for children after a review commissioned by the English government questioned the efficacy of those practices. This announcement effectively ends the practice of providing sex-change drugs and hormone medications to children Read more
Leading pro-life Catholic doctor Dermot Kearney was ‘overwhelmed’ when he received a prestigious award for his pro-life work. Dr Dermot Kearney received the Anton Neuwirth Prize for the Protection of Life award in Slovakia ‘for providing medical care and for testifying to his courage in helping women avert pharmacological abortion.’ A regular contributor to the Read more
Father Massimo Fusarelli, leader of the worldwide Franciscan order, has appealed to his fellow Franciscans to stay put in the Holy Land despite rising tensions and threats to physical safety due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Speaking in an April 18 interview with the Franciscan-run Custodia magazine, Fusarelli Read more
The Carmelite nuns who sued the Bishop of Fort Worth last year have fiercely rejected a new decree from Vatican City that they be governed by an association of monasteries, calling the decision a hostile takeover. “We are not things to be traded or given away in backroom deals,” the nuns wrote in a four-page Read more
Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel will “most certainly” forgive the teen who stabbed him several times during a church service in Sydney on Monday, says a neighbouring clergyman. Emmanual and another priest injured while trying to defend him were rushed to hospital after the incident. The 16-year old offender was arrested at the scene. “I Read more