A new study has found children who were bullied and sexually abused are more likely to smoke and drink alcohol excessively as adults. The findings were published recently in BMC Public Health. Few studies have explored this phenomenon in Australia, according to Dr David Alejandro González-Chica, senior lecturer and research supervisor at the University of Read more
United States federal documents show thousands of migrant children have been exposed to abuse while in government custody. The U.S. government has received more than 4,500 complaints over the last four years alleging that children who are under government custody because of immigration matters faced sexual abuse. Read more
Catholics must be recognise their own sins and shortcomings when giving correction and guide to others, Pope Francis says. “So many times, we all know, it is easier or more convenient to discern and condemn the defects and sins of others, without being able to see our own with just as much clarity,” he said Read more
Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, one of the so called Dubia cardinals warned Catholics who leave the one true Church, whatever the reason might be, that they risk falling into eternal damnation of “existential nothingness.” Read more
The Vatican is calling Cardinal George Pell’s conviction of sexual abuse of minors’ as “painful”, saying it “shocked many people”. In a statement, the Vatican acknowledges the “utmost respect for the Australian judicial authorities” and says the Vatican is waiting for the outcome of the appeals process. It says, (Pell) “has the right to defend Read more
Any pregnant woman – regardless of her faith, marriage or immigration status – can ask Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York for help. He emphasised his willingness to help after New York State’s Reproductive Health Act 2019 legalised abortions for any reason up to birth. The public outcry after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Read more
A new lay organisation, Catholics For Change In Our Church (CCOC), is asking for a voice in church affairs. The Diocese-wide group formed in Pittsburgh after last year’s grand jury report into Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania. “There was really no venue for people to share that outrage, that pain, that disappointment and lack of Read more
The question of whether to accept LGBTQ Christians into the fold is causing a schism in the United Methodist Church. America’s third-largest religious denomination is likely break apart over its members’ inability to reconcile differing opinions on whether to affirm LGBTQ Christians. Delegates to the church’s General Conference ended a three-day meeting on Tuesday by Read more
Secrecy is out – the Vatican should give reasons when it sacks a bishop. Both Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich and Malta’s Archbishop Charles Scicluna say the Vatican should begin disclosing the reasons for a Catholic prelate’s removal from office. Cupich and Scicluna organised last week’s summit on child protection. “I think if a person is Read more
A man has been jailed for spitting on a priest for 10 months. He spat on a Catholic priest in a “disgusting, cowardly and provocative” act as an orange walk passed a church. Fr Thomas White was targeted outside St Alphonsus Church in London Road, Glasgow, on 7th July last year, when he was speaking Read more