The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will not visit Rome’s Piazza di Spagna this year for the traditional veneration of Mary on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception due to the pandemic. Instead, Francis will mark the feast day with “an act of private devotion, entrusting the city of Rome, its inhabitants and the Read more
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Immaculate Conception: Pope Francis cancels traditional act of veneration due to pandemic
Thursday, December 3rd, 2020Polish academics warn against ‘slandering’ John Paul II
Thursday, December 3rd, 2020Nearly 1500 academics in Poland have written an appeal against “slandering and rejecting John Paul II” after the publication of the McCarrick report by the Vatican on November 10. The report documented the rise of disgraced former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was laicized by Pope Francis in 2019 after he was credibly accused of abusing Read more
76 Franciscan nuns test positive at monastery in Germany
Thursday, December 3rd, 2020Seventy-six Catholic nuns have tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak at a Franciscan convent in northwestern Germany, church authorities said Tuesday. Another 85 nuns received negative test results at the monastery in Thuine, not far from the Dutch border, the convent’s Mother Superior told The Associated Press. “We are grateful that so far nobody Read more
College of Cardinals now less Eurocentric
Monday, November 30th, 2020
Pope Francis elevated 13 new cardinals on Saturday making the College of Cardinals more representative of the universal Church. Only 11 cardinals participated in the consistory in St Peter’s Basilica all having been in quarantine for two weeks and all wore face masks during the ceremony. Two new cardinals who were unable to be physically Read more
Women ‘clap back’ at Francis comment they do not need to be priests to lead in the church
Monday, November 30th, 2020
Catholic women have clapped back at Pope Francis after he called their struggle for ordination “clericalist” and “disrespectful”. According to Novena News, the women’s response is a reaction to Francis statement that women do not need to be priests in order to lead in the church. Novena News reports that many Catholic women remain unhappy Read more
Bishop of Broome on leave after sexual misconduct allegations
Monday, November 30th, 2020
The Bishop of Broome, who is at the centre of a police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, has taken a sabbatical. Bishop Christopher Saunders will take six months leave away from his outback diocese, effective immediately. No charges have been laid, and Bishop Saunders has strenuously denied the allegations. The Vatican says the bishop’s Read more
Indian State outlaws ’love jihad’ marriages
Monday, November 30th, 2020
Anyone in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh found guilty of using marriage to force someone to change religion will face a prison term of up to 10 years. India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party has approved legislation outlawing so-called ‘love jihad’ marriages. Uttar Pradesh government minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the threat of imprisonment would Read more
Protecting life is a matter of human ethics
Monday, November 30th, 2020
Above all, protecting life is about human ethics, says Pope Francis in a letter to Argentine anti-abortion protesters dated 22 November. Thousands of protesters took to Argentina’s streets on Saturday. They were holding Argentine flags and wearing the sky-blue scarves that identify them as anti-abortionists. The protesters also carried signs with slogans like “Save Both Read more
Firestorm on Twitter in Spain after calls for burning priests
Monday, November 30th, 2020Despite restrictions on hate speech on social media in Spain, a trending hashtag calling for Catholic priests to be burned alive was not removed for violating rules against posting calls for violence. The invitation to #FuegoAlClero, or set fire to the clergy, was first issued by several pro-Marxist accounts, originally in defense of a bill Read more
Transgender Pakistanis find solace in a church of their own
Monday, November 30th, 2020Pakistan’s Christian transgender people, often mocked, abused and bullied, say they have found peace and solace in a church of their own. Shunned by other churches, they can raise their voices high here. During a recent service, transgender women, flowing scarves loose over their long hair, conducted Bible readings and raucously sang hymns, accompanied by Read more