Sixteen fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Washington DC Museum of the Bible are forgeries, the museum has discovered. The fragments have been on exhibit at the museum since its opening in 2017. The scroll fragments were purchased after 2002, when counterfeits of artifacts believed to be part of the 1947 Dead Sea Discovery Read more
French bishop Emmanuel Delmas of Angers, who has the COVID-19 virus, says his symptoms first appeared while he was in Rome earlier this month. Delmas was among 31 French bishops who met with Pope Francis during their ad limina visit on 9 March. The delegation included bishops from Bordeaux, Tours, Rouen, and other parts of Read more
As Italy’s coronavirus crisis continues, four small towns in the southern Italian province of Salerno have been placed under quarantine due to an outbreak of the pandemic that reportedly originated in a spiritual retreat led by the Neocatechumenal Way, one of the “new movements” in the Catholic Church. The Feb. 29-March 1 retreat held in Read more
At least ten priests have died in Italy after contracting COVID-19. More than half of them were from the Diocese of Bergamo, a town outside of Milan in Lombardy. The bishop of Bergamo, the Italian diocese hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, said Monday that the 20 priests in his diocese who have been hospitalized Read more
Scott Morrison has used the threat of withdrawing independent and Catholic schools’ recurrent funding to enlist their support in keeping non-government schools open during the Covid-19 crisis. After Morrison’s discussions with both sectors on Wednesday, the Association of Independent Schools New South Wales has written to its members backing his position to keep schools open Read more
A paternalistic attitude within the Church that devalues laypeople and puts clergy on a pedestal is worse than clericalism says German Jesuit priest Hans Zollner. Zollner is one of the Church’s leading experts in child protection. There are two sides to this problem, Zollner says. One is with “the hierarchy not involving the gifts of Read more
Modifications to COVID-19 measures have been announced in Rome after Pope Francis cautioned against “drastic measures” and Catholics complained on social media. “My heart is in pieces,” Father Maurizio Mirilli, a pastor of a Rome parish tweeted. “I have to close everything, even the church … I feel like a father whose children have been Read more
The bishop of Broome, Western Australia, Christopher Saunders, has voluntarily stepped down after the Vatican ordered a review into the Broome diocese. The review was announced during an ongoing police investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct against Saunders. The allegation was made 18 months ago and involve claims that Saunders sexually abused boys several Read more
Dispensations for the sick and elderly to stay at home instead of going to Sunday Mass and new protocols to reduce the likelihood of spreading COVID-19 are being announced in most US dioceses. One brochure produced for parishioners takes a novel approach, combining prayer and Godliness. “How to hand-wash Catholic style” reads the headline on Read more
If extra Masses were scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people would be at each of them and the risk of being exposed to the virus would be reduced. Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, who is the head of the Polish bishop’s conference, said ensuring not too many churchgoers gather at once is in line with the Read more