Pope Francis welcomed Cardinal George Pell to the Vatican for the first time since the Australian cardinal’s conviction for child sexual abuse was overturned. The pair met in a private audience without masks. In greeting Pell, Francis thanked him for his witness. The meeting was confirmed in the Holy See’s daily bulletin. The Vatican released Read more
Pope Francis’ repeated non-use of a face mask is again in focus as Four Swiss Guards test positive for COVID-19. The four are in isolation while their contacts are being traced, the Vatican said Monday. The Swiss Guards provide ceremonial guard duty during papal Masses, man the Vatican gates and help protect the 83-year-old Pope Read more
Investors should remove their support from companies not committed to the environment, says Pope Francis. On Saturday he added his voice to calls from a number of world leaders for an more environmentally sustainable economic model. Speaking in a video message for an online event called “Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Read more
North Korean gulag prisoners are allegedly being forced to drink river water tainted with the ashes of their dead fellow inmates. The horrific reality of life within Kim Jong-un’s gulags was exposed by former prisoners who survived the living nightmare of Chongori concentration camp. North Koreans can find themselves locked up there for acts as Read more
Simone Hivert, a 100-year-old French woman, is scheduled to reach the popular shrine of Santiago de Compostela, the alleged burial site of St. James the Apostle and an important pilgrimage destination since the 9th century, later this month. Hivert – described as “a most extraordinary pilgrim” is due to arrive at the shrine in northwestern Read more
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday called on the Vatican to be “serious” in addressing religious persecution in China, on the heels of a visit in which Pope Francis did not meet him. Pompeo, an evangelical Protestant and staunch critic of China, in a radio interview drew an implicit contrast between Francis and Read more
A New Orleons archbishop ordered the desecrated altar of a church to be burned. The Catholic church in Pearl River, Louisiana, burned the altar where its former pastor was caught having sex with two women. “His behavior was obscene, his desecration of the altar is demonic,” said Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, who consecrated Read more
Catholic women in Britain are backing a petition against a new gender-exclusive Bible translation. The petition asks the Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales and Scotland to reconsider their decision to use the gender-exclusive Bible at Mass. So far over 150 people have signed the petition. The bishops’ controversial decision involves scrapping the Jerusalem Bible Read more
A new group called Concerned Catholics Tasmania is calling for a more accountable and transparent Church. “There’s a culture of unaccountable clericalism where the power of the Archbishop and clergy in general is really exercised with very little consultation and accountability to the people that the church is meant to serve,” Board member Carey McIver Read more
Fiji’s archbishop, Peter Loy Chong, says the church has a role in politics. People who think mixing religion with politics is wrong are ‘in denial’, he suggests. Loy Chong – who is the head of the Catholic Church in Fiji – was chief guest the opposition National Federation Party (NFP) Annual General Meeting in Suva Read more