Police and prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against the Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders over allegations of sexual misconduct. This decision comes just days before the Catholic Church deadline to decide Saunders’ future. The Vatican started a separate, internal investigation into his management of the diocese. He was then sent on a Read more
A prominent US Benedictine nun is warning Australia’s Catholic Church to stop suppressing Catholic reform from its ordinary members or face an inevitable decline. This is not the first time Sister Joan Chittister has called out Australia’s Catholic hierarchy. She was recently embroiled in a censorship row with Melbourne’s Archbishop. Now she is renewing calls Read more
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have appointed a former Chief Crown Prosecutor as the Chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA). Nazir Afzal, a practicing Muslim, served as the Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England from 2011-2015 and chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners from 2016-2017. Afzal Read more
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case involving a challenge to a Mississippi law prohibiting most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, a move that could weaken abortion rights nationwide. The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, revolves around a Mississippi law passed in 2018 that bans all abortions after 15 weeks Read more
The annual diocesan celebration of World Youth Day is an important event that emphasises the role young people play in the Catholic Church, the Vatican said. In a document published by the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life May 18, the Vatican issued a set of pastoral guidelines for local WYD celebrations “to ensure Read more
Australia’s modern slavery legislation is now translating into meaningful on-the-ground interventions in the high-risk construction sector, including an anonymous advice chat service for workers observing troubling behaviour. The app is part of a broader Building Links project initiated by the Australian Catholic Anti-slavery Network (ACAN). The project aims to increase the capacity of construction industry Read more
Pope Francis will attend the UN Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow in November. Pope Francis and John Kerry, U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, met privately in a closed-door meeting, last week at the Vatican. In an interview after the meeting, Kerry said he believes Francis will participate in the UN Framework Read more
While the pope’s announcement of Antiquum ministerium – the new Rite of Institution of the Lay Catechist has made many people happy, others are finding it perplexing and likely to backfire. “Just who are the laity in a church of priestly people” asks Robert Mickens, writing his weekly Letter from Rome column in La Croix Read more
A prominent bishop in the Brazilian Amazon has said there is marked disappointment in the region over the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia. Erwin Kräutler, the bishop emeritus of Xingu in the Brazilian Amazon, expressed concern that not a word was said about opening up the Sacrament of Holy Orders to married men and ordaining Read more
The homes of Christian families have been hit during the Israeli air force raids on the Gaza Strip, according to the Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem. Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, Bishop Emeritus of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said the convent and the nursery school of the Sisters of the Rosary were also damaged. Marcuzzo stated that Read more