America’s first black cardinal, Wilton Gregory, made history last year when he became the first Black American to be appointed a cardinal in the Catholic Church. On the way, he says he faced plenty of discrimination due to his skin colour. “I don’t know of any African American who hasn’t tasted the bitter cup of Read more
Pressure is mounting on German Cardinal Woelki to act decisively on sexual abuse allegations in the archdiocese of Cologne. The number of Catholics leaving the church, centred on Cologne, has reached a record 1,000 a month. But Protestants are also voting with their feet. The Cologne archdiocese’s “sluggish” efforts to clear up the abuse scandal Read more
The Archbishop of Paris has announced Saint-Merry Pastoral Center, the city’s most progressive Catholic parish is to close on March 1. The announcement has been greeted with disbelief, sadness and anger by the parish community. They launched an online “appeal” to keep the centre open. In the first 48 hours, more than 2,000 people had Read more
The deadlock over the appointment of a new bishop in the historic Swiss diocese of Chur has been ended by Pope Francis. The Holy See press office said on Feb. 15 that the pope had named Msgr. Joseph Marie Bonnemain as bishop of Chur in eastern Switzerland. Bonnemain, a 72-year-old member of Opus Dei, previously Read more
As USA’s first human-composting funeral home is now operational in the state of Washington. Death care specialists say this new and environmentally friendly procedure is crucial as mortuaries fill up and people seek more sustainable practices. And in California, where the massive number of COVID-19 deaths has inundated funeral homes and even led to Los Read more
In a statement released on Thursday, the South African Bishops conference praised president Cyril Ramaphosa’s clarification of his herd immunity policy on 1st February. The president said that herd immunity would be achieved once “67% of our people” are immune. Saying that none are safe until all are safe, he stated that “we aim to Read more
Bishops of England and Wales have welcomed a new National Health Service (NHS) campaign aimed at encouraging people to talk to their families and loved ones about their organ donation decisions. The ‘Leave Them Certain’ campaign has been launched by the NHS Blood and Transplant following a law change that has introduced an opt-out or Read more
With clergy abuse lawsuits seemingly on the rise across the United States, new reporting uncovers a growing number of priests who are fighting back against their accusers by suing them, investigators, and even other church officials, reports Deena Yellin, as republished by USA Today. The list includes the Reverend Roy Herberger of the Catholic Diocese Read more
Pondering the question: ‘did God slip up in creating homosexuals?’, German Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz found he had to say ‘No’. Kolgraf says that answer has led him to think the Catholic Church needs a new pastoral approach to homosexual couples. After becoming a bishop in 2017, Kolgraf says he was soon made aware Read more
A Pew Research Center poll has found the coronavirus pandemic has strengthened the religious faith and family bonds in many parts of the world. The poll focused on 14 countries with what Pew calls “advanced economies”. It was released in late January. Of the Americans surveyed, 28 percent said the pandemic had strengthened their own Read more