Last week the Pope Emeritus met with a professor of moral theology who was recently dismissed from Rome’s Pontifical John Paul II Institute. His dismissal came amid ongoing controversy regarding recent changes to the Institute. Benedict XVI, who has had a long-standing relationship with the Institute that well pre-dates his papacy, invited Monsignor Livio Melina Read more
Children born of rape do not count as victims, police have said, after a woman seeks to prosecute her birth father after allegedly raping her mother. The woman, who wants her father brought to justice in a victimless prosecution by using her own DNA as key evidence, discovered the alleged rape while going through her Read more
Ahead of the Pope’s visit to Mozambique, the country’s president and the leader of the Renamo opposition have signed a peace agreement to end armed hostilities, almost three decades after the end of a civil war. The permanent ceasefire comes just weeks before Francis arrives on 5 September into Maputo for a one-day visit to Read more
The man known as Australia’s “Dr Death” has created a private live-streaming service so he can watch in real-time as members of his euthanasia group end their lives. It might seem macabre to some but right-to-die campaigner Philip Nitschke says it’s all in the name of science. The founder of Exit International wants to be Read more
Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington has spoken out against the racist, divisive tweets President Donald Trump has been making about his critics in Congress. Defending his right to voice his concerns, Gregory says there are times “when a pastor and a disciple of Jesus is called to speak out to defend the dignity of all Read more
The Netherlands’ police and and transport companies are unwilling to enforce a ban on wearing a face-covering burqa. Their lack of cooperation with the so-called burqa ban made the new legislation largely unworkable on its first day in law. Under the terms of the Partial Ban on Face-Covering Clothing Act, various forms of headgear are Read more
Pope Francis has written a letter to priests all over the world to offer his support because of the global sex abuse scandal. His 5,000-word letter (sent on the feast day of St John Vianney, patron of parish priests) acknowledges priests’ pain when they “feel themselves attacked and blamed for crimes they did not commit”. Read more
The bishops of Ho Chi Minh City’s archdiocese have written to the faithful warning them against a deviant Marian devotion and other deviant ritual practices meant to cast out evil spirits. Auxiliary bishops Joseph Do Manh Hung (who is also serving as apostolic administrator) and Louis Nguyen Anh Tuan wrote the letter after finding a Read more
A new guide to deathbed etiquette aims to help people to support loved ones as they die. “Deathbed Etiquette” highlights the importance of good accompaniment of dying people. The guide, is produced by The Art of Dying Well, a project supported by the university. The university says its new guide draws on the experiences of Read more
French Polynesia’s biggest church has sharply criticised the French state, saying Paris should repent for its crimes committed against God and the people. At the conclusion of its 135th synod, the Maohi Protestant church called on France to abrogate its nuclear compensation law, saying it fails to compensate the victims of the weapons tests. In Read more