Pope Francis has ordered an apostolic visitation of the Archdiocese of Cologne, in Germany, to examine the pastoral situation and the handling of sexual abuse cases. The archdiocese said that the pope’s apostolic visitors would evaluate “possible mistakes” made by its leader, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. “During the first half of June, the Holy See’s Read more
A Swiss Catholic bishop has announced that he is appointing lay people in place of episcopal vicars in his diocese. Mgr Charles Morerod, bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Friborg in Switzerland, decided to appoint “representatives of the bishop” a lay woman and a man as well as a deacon in three “diocesan regions”. Morerod revealed Read more
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) plans to devote part of its national meeting next month to the sensitive issue of which Catholics are worthy of receiving Communion, and President Joe Biden will be a key subject. Dozens of bishops had written to the USCCB president, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, requesting to postpone Read more
The theft of the gold rosary that Mary, Queen of Scots took to her execution is a “very tragic loss” for Catholic history, a curator has said. Jan Graffius, the curator of the Stonyhurst Collections, made the comment after police reported that thieves broke into Arundel Castle in West Sussex, southern England, on May 21, Read more
Spain’s postal service has been rebuked by anti-racism campaigners after it launched a limited-edition run of skin-toned stamps in which the dark skin tones have a lower monetary value than the light ones. The Equality Stamps range was launched to coincide with the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a US police officer. Read more
A bill proposed last week by the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party would criminalize “harassment” of women entering abortion clinics. The bill was introduced May 21 by the PSOE’s coalition in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of Spain’s legislature, would criminalize “harassing women going to clinics for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy.” Penalties Read more
Human beings could potentially live to be 150 years old, scientists have concluded in a groundbreaking new study. However, any hopes Silicon Valley billionaires might have of making themselves immortal were dashed. Researchers said 150 was the “absolute limit” any healthy human body would be able to sustain. Thousands of volunteers in the US and Read more
Pope Francis has stunned Vatican media staff, Tuesday, asking how may people actually read their news. “There are many reasons to be concerned about (Vatican) Radio, about L’Osservatore Romano. But, the one that touches my heart: how many listen to the radio, and how many read L’Osservatore Romano?” Francis asked in a live radio broadcast Read more
A Catholic university’s suicide intervention programme is doing well. The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) offers a therapeutic framework for treating suicidal patients. The professor leading the work, David Jobes, says a recent meta-analysis of clinical trials the programme is “Well Supported for reducing suicidal ideation [suicidal thoughts] per Centers for Disease Control Read more
The Barcelona diocese in Spain is refocusing overstretched parish resources into larger pastoral communities. In one instance a priest is running 40 parishes single-handedly, Fr Antoni Matabosch Soler told NCR. Soler, a theologian helping plan Barcelona’s reorganization, says some priests are now “pushed to the limit.” Parish restructuring will be the future for many Spanish Read more