Carlos Medina, the man charged with murdering Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell in February, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in court on Wednesday. News of O’Connell’s Feb 18 murder shocked the nation after it was reported that he died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds at his Hacienda Heights home. The local and wider Read more
Pope Francis permanently decreed an updated version of Vos estis lux mundi, his landmark legislation to counter sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The decree promulgated March 25 extends the Church’s norms for handling of abuse to cover lay leaders of international associations of the faithful recognized by the Vatican. Vos estis lux mundi (“You Read more
Just before his first speaking engagement at the UN, a young Catholic triathlete spoke to a television news outlet about his faith. “I am Gabriel, God’s messenger,” 22-year old Gabriel Cobb told OSV News. Cobb, pictured with his parents just before going into the UN New York conference hall added: “My faith is the most Read more
Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Deputy Secretary of State in the Vatican, has admitted to authorising electronic surveillance of the director of the Vatican bank, Gianfranco Mammì, without legal approval. The revelation came during his testimony at the landmark financial misconduct case. “I did it, and if necessary, I would do it again,” the archbishop Read more
An agreement allowing shipments of grain to flow from Ukraine through the Black Sea to developing countries has been extended, officials said on Saturday. The agreement was first signed with the United Nations and Turkey in July last year, following a halt to shipping and fears of a global food crisis after Russia invaded Ukraine. Read more
We should treat other people’s physical and social differences as a chance to love better, not as an inconvenience, Pope Francis said on Sunday. After leading the Angelus with the 25,000-strong crowd in St Peter’s Square, he reflected on the day’s Gospel, which recounts Jesus’s miraculous healing of the blind man. Pointing out the different Read more
Paramatta bishop, Vincent Long has announced that his diocese will hold a diocesan synod to promote root and branch reform of the church in Parramatta. The synod will be known locally as the “Parramatta Way”. The Parramatta Way, held in two phases, in October this year and in mid-2024, will develop a pastoral plan and Read more
On the last day of their meeting at the Vatican this month, the seven-member Synod of Bishops’ preparatory commission had an audience with Pope Francis. Bishop Daniel Flores, who has been coordinating the synod process for the United States bishops, said the meeting was “very encouraging”. Francis speaks “very beautifully about the Church and about Read more
The Vatican has opened its very own shopping mall on March 16, located immediately adjacent to St Peter’s Square. The idea behind the new 120,000 square foot “Caput Mundi” Mall, using a traditional saying about Rome as the “capital of the world,” is to appeal not only to the four million visitors who move through Read more
Women and girls are to be admitted to a choir at the Montserrat monastery near Barcelona, home to the famous Escolania all-boys choir, for the first time in its 700-year history. The new chamber choir, made up of a mix of about 25 boys and women and girls aged 17 to 24, will be separate Read more