A small group of French Catholic Academy members say the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) report prepared by Academy members has produced a skewed document that could be “ruinous” for institutional Catholicism. The report was commissioned by the French Bishops’ Conference. The CIASE report was wrong to impute the Church with Read more
The European Commission (EU) has retracted its draft guidelines for internal communications, which propose substituting the “Christmas period” with “holiday period”. An outcry by conservatives and the Vatican led the U-turn on the policy, which termed the document an attempt to “cancel” Europe’s Christian roots. The EU Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, said the draft Read more
Leaked information about the interior restoration proposed for the fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris has sparked controversy, with some fearing the proposals would turn the site into “a kind of theme park.” The Archdiocese of Paris will soon present its design to France’s National Commission on Heritage and Architecture (CNPA) to restore the interior of Read more
Canadians are becoming increasingly impatient with their unvaccinated countrymen, and the government is making it clear to citizens – get vaccinated or lose your job. Civil servants and anyone working in federally regulated industries who decline to get the Covid-19 shot will face unemployment. In October, Canada’s federal jobs minister added to the hard-line approach. Read more
Phil Saviano, a clergy sex abuse survivor and whistleblower who played a pivotal role in exposing decades of predatory assaults by Catholic priests in the US, has died. He was 69. Saviano’s story figured prominently in the 2015 Oscar-winning film Spotlight, about the Boston Globe investigation that revealed how scores of priests molested children and Read more
Last fall, when Roman Catholic archbishop Brian Dunn moved into his position, replacing longtime archbishop Anthony Mancini, he wrote a pastoral letter outlining four priorities for his sphere of influence, the Halifax-Yarmouth archdiocese. Three of those are very specific to church affairs, including the religious teaching called catechesis. The other priority is homelessness. “It was Read more
Pope Francis said on Monday that migrants were being exploited as “pawns” on a political chessboard in an apparent reference to the crisis at the Belarus border. Thousands of migrants are stuck on the European Union’s eastern frontier in what the EU says is a crisis Minsk engineered by distributing Belarusian visas in the Middle Read more
Catholic bishops in the Netherlands have decided to cancel Christmas Midnight Masses once again this year as a precaution to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Dutch bishops announced on Dec 1 that no Catholic Masses or other parish functions will be allowed to take place after 5 pm, with public venues required to close Read more
The Archdiocese of Brisbane has launched what may be the world’s first online parish enabling thousands of Catholics to practise their faith in the digital world. Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the innovation was sparked by the continued interest in online Masses. This is despite the easing of COVID-19 restrictions allowing parishioners to attend churches Read more
An “ambiguous” relationship ten years ago and a “virulent” magazine article led Paris archbishop Michel Aupetit to ask Pope Francis last week to decide whether he should continue in his role as prelate. The 70-year-old archbishop, who was installed in the French capital in 2018 says he wrote to the pope out of a concern Read more