Fresh surges of Covid infections show the pandemic is nowhere near over, the World Health Organisation’s chief has said, warning the virus is running free. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was worried case numbers were shooting up, putting more strain on health systems and workers. The number of Covid cases reported to the WHO increased Read more
World
Missionary priest’s hunger strike protests Hong Kong activists’ detention
Monday, July 18th, 2022An elderly Catholic missionary in Hong Kong has launched a three-day hunger strike outside a high-security prison. He demands the release of politicians and activists incarcerated under the city’s Beijing-imposed controversial national security law. Father Franco Mella, 74, a member of the Milan-based Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions, has vowed to abstain from food as Read more
Quebec judge rejects $28-million class-action settlement in Catholic church sex-abuse case
Saturday, July 16th, 2022A Quebec Superior Court judge has rejected a $28-million settlement in a sex-abuse lawsuit against a Catholic religious order because of the high legal fees associated with the agreement. The agreement would have awarded the Montreal law firm Arsenault, Dufresne and Wee, representing the plaintiffs, more than $8 million in fees. Justice Thomas M Davis Read more
Half Lourdes chapels damaged by fire
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
A devastating fire at three Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes chapels in France badly damaged the famous healing shrine last weekend. The blaze that burned through Saturday night until the early hours of Sunday morning destroyed three of the seven “Chapels of Light” that were added to the Marian shrine in 2018. No one Read more
People warned – don’t buy scalpers’ tickets to Pope’s Mass
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
Scalpers selling tickets to the Mass Pope Francis will celebrate in Edmonton are trying to make a buck off a free event, say those responsible for organising the Pope’s programme while he’s in Canada. There’s also a real risk that some people might trick others into buying non-existent tickets, organisers say. “It is sad and Read more
Catholic groups oppose EU vote designating gas and nuclear energy as ‘green’
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
European-based Catholic social and environmental justice groups oppose and have voiced their dismay at the EU Parliament “greenwashing” fossil fuels. In a July 6 vote, the EU governing body gave the green light to the green tag for nuclear and gas, despite opponents seeking support to reject the motion. The vote came as Europe faces Read more
Speculation surrounds possible new bioetchics encyclical
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
There is speculation an encyclical focused on contraception, assisted procreation and palliative care from Pope Francis is imminent. The speculation comes from a late-2021 three-day seminar convened at the Vatican by the Pontifical Academy for Life. An essay titled “Rileggere l’etica teologica della vita” (“Re-reading the theological ethics of life”) was published on June 30 Read more
Pope hopes China deal on bishops will be renewed soon
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
Pope Francis said he hopes the Vatican’s agreement with China on the appointment of Roman Catholic bishops would be renewed in October. In an interview with Reuters, Francis discussed the China deal first struck in 2018 and to be renewed every two years. The agreement was put in place to ease a longstanding divide across Read more
Former choirboy’s father sues Melbourne Archdiocese, George Pell
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
A former choirboy’s father who says his son was sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell has launched civil action, aiming to sue the Catholic Church and Pell. In 2018, Pell was found guilty by a County Court jury of abusing two teenage choirboys in December 1996 when he was the Archbishop of Melbourne. He had Read more
Francis names three women to bishop selecting committee
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
The Holy See Press Office on July 13 announced that Pope Francis has appointed three women to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. The role of the dicastery is to help the pope in the appointment of Catholic bishops for Latin-rite dioceses outside what the Vatican considers the mission territories, for example, Australia. Bishop appointments to Read more