An influential theologian considered to be close to Pope Francis said he is “very worried” about the German Catholic Church’s controversial “Synodal Way.” Cardinal Walter Kasper the former head of the Vatican’s department for Christian unity said in a June 8 interview with the Passauer Bistumsblatt that he hoped the prayers of faithful Catholics could Read more
Pope Francis has urged a group of Italian seminarians to avoid clericalism and rigidity. He encouraged them to ask God for the gift of docility instead. “Clericalism is a perversion of the priesthood: it is a perversion. And rigidity is one of the manifestations,” the pope said June 10. “When I find a rigid seminarian Read more
Baptising babies into the Catholic Church suppresses people’s freedoms for life, the former Irish president says. Mary McAleese thinks the Church needs to overhaul the practice of baptising babies. She says it violates 21st-century human rights. In an address to Oxford University, McAleese said canon law claims the Church is entitled to limit, compromise and Read more
Pope Francis has written declining German Cardinal Reinhard Marx’s 21 May letter of resignation. In his letter Francis says he agrees with Marx that Catholic leaders cannot adopt an “ostrich policy” in the face of the clerical sexual abuse crisis. “If you are tempted to think that, by confirming your mission and not accepting your Read more
The national assembly of Catholic bishops in Canada is preparing to send a delegation of Indigenous people to the Vatican for a visit with Pope Francis to discuss Canada’s residential school system and the role the Catholic church played. In a statement Thursday, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) said it has been preparing Read more
Actor Jonathan Pryce and a police officer from Rhyl are among the North Wales figures to be recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The Flintshire-born actor, 74, is to be knighted in recognition of his services to drama and charity, while Michael Taggart, 39, will receive an MBE for work with domestic abuse victims. Pryce Read more
The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, showed a net profit of 36.4 million euros ($44.1 million) in 2020, according to its annual report. Compared to a net profit of 38 million euros ($46 million) the previous year, “this is a very significant result” considering the low yields and Read more
Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, recently declared that any women who was ordained, and the men who ordained them, would be excommunicated from the church. However, a couple of women ordained Catholic priests in our area say the Pope’s revision of papal law is irrelevant to what is really happening in Read more
Eucharistic adoration – a staple of youth retreats and activities – is pulling young Catholics away from their electronic devices and into quiet reflection. Kimberly Belcher, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, studied students at three US Catholic campuses who regularly engage in Eucharistic adoration. She found the absence of connection Read more
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to whitewash the Canadian government’s role in the deadly operation of residential schools by deflecting blame to the Roman Catholic Church, said Most Rev. Fred Henry, bishop emeritus of the Calgary diocese. In an open letter to the prime minister, Henry, who presided over southern Alberta Catholics from 1998 Read more