The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, died in a Belgrade hospital on Friday after contracting coronavirus, according to a statement from the church. Irinej, who was 90, led an open-casket funeral service for the church’s top cleric in Montenegro, Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović, on November 1. Three days later, Irinej was admitted to Read more
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Church patriarch dies from Covid-19 after open-casket funeral of disease victim
Monday, November 23rd, 2020Detroit Archbishop to lead national Catholic group on Joe Biden and abortion
Monday, November 23rd, 2020The head of the Catholic Church in Detroit has been chosen to lead a new national group that seeks to guide how Catholics should respond to President-elect Joe Biden and the contentious issue of abortion. Archbishop Allen Vigneron, who leads the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, was named this week by Archbishop José Gomez of Los Read more
To attract parishioners we must construct mature Church
Thursday, November 19th, 2020
The Catholic Church can attract parishioners although changes are needed, says Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. “We have to construct a mature Church” to attract parishioners, he says. The question is how: how will the Church choose to reach out to people and define itself? In his opinion, the Church will need to be very Read more
Over 1.5 million German Catholics reiterate urgent need for change
Thursday, November 19th, 2020
Groups representing over 1.5 million German Catholics have again said there is an urgent need for change in the Church. The Church must change if it is to reverse its loss of credibility, they say. “Constructive dialogue and debate on necessary reforms are absolutely essential” at this point in the life of the Church. In Read more
“Neurotic media” claims Holy Communion spreads COVID
Thursday, November 19th, 2020
Greece’s Holy Synod has said giving Holy Communion to people using the same spoon will not spread Covid-19. Following the death of a clergyman with the disease, the Church issued a statement saying members of the media alleging Covid-19 was spread via communion are “neurotic.” Ioannis, the Bishop of Langadas, in Thessaloniki, passed away recently. Read more
French Catholics demand Mass during lockdown: bishops disagree
Thursday, November 19th, 2020
A French bishop says people protesting in front of churches demanding they be allowed to attend Mass during lockdown are not taking their share of suffering. Bishop Pierre-Yves Michel of Valence said the protesters were not sending the right signal on behalf of the Church. “The health situation is serious,” he said. “I would prefer Read more
Boy Scouts sex-abuse claims approach 100,000
Thursday, November 19th, 2020
More than 95,000 people have come forward with sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The claims, which lawyers said far eclipsed the number of abuse accusations filed in Catholic Church cases, continued to mount. The figure revealed the scale of alleged abuse committed over decades by scout leaders. It dwarfs the roughly Read more
German church tax income plummets during pandemic
Thursday, November 19th, 2020The Catholic and Evangelical churches in Germany are set to lose around €1 billion ($1.18 billion) in taxes paid by the faithful in 2020, according to a report published in Welt am Sonntag on Sunday. According to estimations, both churches can expect to see an average fall of around 8% in their incomes, double the Read more
Catholic institutions lead in divestment from fossil fuels
Thursday, November 19th, 2020As the climate crisis rages around the world, many of the world’s governments continue to cling to energy sources of the past. But faith institutions around the world aren’t waiting for change. They’re committing to a brighter and cleaner future. Together, they’re acting out their values and showing the world once more that faith institutions Read more
Polish cardinal dies after being disciplined by Vatican
Thursday, November 19th, 2020Polish Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, retired archbishop of Wroclaw, died on Nov. 16. His death came 10 days after the publication of Vatican disciplinary measures against him related to sexual abuse. Cardinal Gulbinowicz, who was 97 at the time of his death, had been hospitalized on Nov. 10. The Vatican nunciature in Poland had announced on Read more