Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis’s personal peace envoy for the war in Ukraine, closed a two-day visit to Washington DC Wednesday, capping a whirlwind round of high-level civil and ecclesial meetings. Zuppi was in Washington DC from July 17-19 along with an unnamed representative of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State to “continue the mission Read more
World
Catholic Church insurer’s insolvency battle amid abuse claims
Monday, July 24th, 2023The Catholic Church insurer is planning to enter a scheme of arrangement amid uncertainty over the quantum of long-term sex abuse and other claims and to avoid formal insolvency. Catholic Church Insurance chairman Joan Fitzpatrick has written to policyholders proposing a scheme of arrangement, which is a common procedure in global insurance markets amid uncertain Read more
AI-generated child abuse images challenge real victim identification
Thursday, July 20th, 2023
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued a stark warning on the growing menace of AI-generated child abuse images, making it increasingly difficult to identify real children at risk. Law enforcement agencies are gravely concerned about the emergence of hyper-realistic AI-generated content, fearing that it could blur the lines between real and computer-generated victims, Read more
Focolare Movement report highlights decades of sexual abuse
Thursday, July 20th, 2023
In March this year, the Focolare Movement released its first internal report on cases of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults within its ranks, highlighting decades of abuse. Focolare, founded in 1943, is one of the largest lay organisations in the Catholic Church, with representation in 194 countries and boasting over 2 million people Read more
Tackling global hunger – progress stalled
Thursday, July 20th, 2023
The fight against global hunger faces a daunting setback as the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report reveals that the world is veering off course from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030. Although hunger levels have ceased rising at the alarming rate witnessed in 2022, the Read more
Sex abuse survivors rage – compensation far less than Inquiry professionals’ salaries
Thursday, July 20th, 2023
Child sex abuse survivors are angry about the huge sums earned by professionals involved in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. The Daily Record says it found the judge who chaired the inquiry for seven years was paid the same amount for two weeks’ work as some survivors received in compensation for a lifetime of suffering. Read more
Iraq’s president dismisses Chaldean Catholic Church patriarch
Thursday, July 20th, 2023
Cardinal Louis Sako is no longer recognised as the Chaldean Catholic Church patriarch, says Iraq’s President Abdul Rashid. Rashid has revoked a former president’s 2013 decree recognising Sako’s position as the Chaldean church’s leader. After Saturday’s shock announcement, Sako said he will move to a monastery in Kurdistan, an autonomous Iraqi region of Iraq. He Read more
Vatican and Vietnam relations take major step forward
Thursday, July 20th, 2023
The Vatican and Vietnam are finalising a deal that will help improve their long strained relations. Sources say the new deal will allow the Holy See to have a resident representative in communist-run Vietnam. Both sources, a senior Vatican official and a Hanoi-based diplomat, say they think the deal’s formal announcement will take place later Read more
Climate could reset US-China relations, says US envoy
Thursday, July 20th, 2023US climate envoy John Kerry told senior Chinese officials on Tuesday that Beijing and Washington could use cooperation on climate change to redefine their difficult relationship. Kerry, who is on a three-day visit to China, said both countries — the world’s top two greenhouse gas emitters — could together show global leadership in tackling global Read more
US Catholic bishops report fewer complaints of abuse in 2022
Thursday, July 20th, 2023The US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) just released its 2022 annual report on the protection of children and young people showing that there were fewer sexual abuse cases reported in the past two consecutive years. The 2022 report for July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, states that 1,998 victim survivors came forward with Read more