Pope Francis says service, not party affiliation, makes a politician Catholic. This involves dedication to promoting the common good, particularly through listening to and empowering people who are often overlooked. The pope was speaking to a group of young Latin American leaders attending a course on politics and the social teaching of the church. The Read more
Robert Richter QC, who is the criminal barrister representing Cardinal George Pell, has denied newspaper reports that he has stood down from the case. He says these reports emerged after he expressed anger at the court’s ‘perverse’ guilty verdict, and are incorrect. Initially he says he questioned his objectivity in the ongoing defence case for Read more
Trailblazing women priests have been feted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at a special service. Welby led the service in London to commemorate the 25 years since the first woman was ordained to the presbyterate in the Church of England. Over 80 women priests were at the celebrations. Some were among those who Read more
A priest and author of a new book on the “Hail Mary” says papal devotion to Mary reflects their belief that she’s most feared by the devil. Read more
A church fire which badly damaged the building spared every bible and cross inside. The US Fire Department was called to the blaze at Freedom Ministries Church in the US state of Virginia on Sunday. “Though odds were against us, God was not,” the fire department wrote. Read more
The percentage of Catholics in the world has remained steady, while priest numbers declined for the first time in almost a decade, according to Vatican statistics. Meanwhile, the numbers of bishops, permanent deacons, lay missionaries and catechists have all increased. Read more
A French couple were given three month suspended sentences and 500 euro fines for falsely accusing a priest of sexual abuse. In addition, they have to post the court’s verdict on the public noticeboard at the town hall of Baye, the small village in the Marne region where the priest they accused had lived until Read more
The China-based Faith Institute for Cultural Studies says there were about 48,000 Catholic baptisms last year in the People’s Republic. The institute says it gathered the data from 104 Catholic dioceses recognised by the Chinese authorities. These dioceses are scattered in over 30 national provincial divisions. In common with previous years, the research found the Read more
The Washington Post has admitted it was wrong to run a story about a group of Catholic students’ alleged confrontation with a Vietnam war activist in January. The newspaper is facing a $250 million defamation lawsuit filed by Nick Sandmann, the 16-year-old at the centre of a video that inspired the original story. The editor Read more
Catholic hospitals in Ireland may have to remove crucifixes and other religious symbols from rooms with non-Catholic patients. A new report issued last Thursday by former European Union official Catherine Day focused on the relationship between the Irish state and Church-run hospitals. There are twelve Catholic hospitals in the Republic of Ireland, all of which Read more