Japan’s government has made tackling its falling birth rate a top priority, but with few women involved in official debate on the issue, some are making themselves heard on social media. Japan recorded fewer than 800,000 births last year, the lowest in the country of 125 million since records began. The prime minister has warned Read more
World
German courts drop investigation into Benedict XVI
Thursday, March 30th, 2023The public prosecutor’s office in Munich has officially closed a preliminary investigation into Benedict XVI concerning allegations that he covered up sexual abuse decades ago when he was cardinal-archbishop in the Bavarian capital. The prosecutors closed the inquiry on March 21, saying they were unable to substantiate the accusations made against Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in Read more
Imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop proved alive
Thursday, March 30th, 2023Imprisoned Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez appeared unexpectedly on Nicaraguan television March 24, more than six weeks after refusing to be exiled from his country, opting instead to face his sentence of 26 years behind bars. Pale, gaunt and dressed in blue, Bishop Álvarez was reunited with his brother and sister for a meal at the Read more
Catholic media giant EWTN represents the right-wing rich
Monday, March 27th, 2023
A high-profile US cardinal has criticised the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a conservative Catholic US media conglomerate, for its fundamental criticism of Pope Francis. In an interview with Spanish magazine Vida Nueva, Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego (pictured), supported Bishop Fernando Prado of San Sebastián, Spain, who banned diocesan television from airing content Read more
ISIS kill 15 truffle hunters in central Syria
Monday, March 27th, 2023
Islamic State (ISIS) militants have killed 15 people who were foraging for desert truffles in central Syria, according to a war monitor. The victims, who included seven civilians and eight pro-regime fighters, were reportedly attacked on Thursday by ISIS fighters who slit their throats. Another 40 people are currently missing. The Syrian desert truffles are Read more
German bishop resigns over handling of sexual abuse cases
Monday, March 27th, 2023
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Franz-Josef Bode(pictured) of Osnabrueck, Germany, who has been under pressure due to his handling of clerical sexual abuse in his diocese. In a personal statement, Bode said that his decision to resign had “matured in me in recent months,” and he hoped that his departure would have Read more
Blessing of homosexual couples ‘blasphemy’
Monday, March 27th, 2023
A German Cardinal covered many topics in a recent media interview – blasphemy, the pope, LGBT and the German bishops featured in Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s comments. One comment was that Pope Francis should correct and, if necessary, punish some German bishops. Müller was referring to those who have approved “heretical texts” and “proposals directly against Read more
Priest supports stripping legal protection of confessional; loses confession faculties
Monday, March 27th, 2023
A US priest no longer has permission to hear confessions after he published an opinion piece supporting a bill that would remove legal protections for the confessional seal. The faculty to hear confession and offer absolution was withdrawn immediately by Fr James Connell’s archbishop. The ban extends beyond his Archdiocese of Milwaukee; it applies in Read more
Ideologies in education harm society
Monday, March 27th, 2023Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Fuentes of La Paz, Bolivia, charged that ideologies are being imposed on Bolivian society, especially in education. In his homily on the healing of the man born blind for Sunday Mass at St Francis Minor Basilica in La Paz on March 19, the prelate reflected on how to pass from darkness to Read more
5,000 Italian ex-priests mobilise in favour of optional celibacy
Monday, March 27th, 2023
A group of some 5,000 Italian ex-priests who’ve gone on to become married is mobilising in advance of October’s first Synod of Bishops on Synodality to advocate for making celibacy optional in the Catholic Church. The group notes that calls to rethink the celibacy requirement have circulated in various Catholic arenas of late, from the Read more