Archbishop Carlo Viganò has been ordered to refund US$2 million plus interest and court costs to his brother Fr Lorenzo Viganò. Lorenzo had taken out a civil lawsuit opposing his brother’s management of a “conspicuous family inheritance.” The ruling was issued by Judge Susanna Terni after hearing the case in the civil tribunal of Milan Read more
A bishop, a priest and several religious are among the 42 confirmed dead after a massacre in the Central African Republic town of Alindao. The death toll is expected to rise as UN forces sift through the remains of a refugee camp which witnesses say was completely razed. The attacks, said to be the work Read more
Pope Francis and pope emeritus Benedict – have sent letters supporting the 2018 International Symposium “Fundamental rights and conflicts among rights” taking place in Rome this week. The symposium is being held by the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation. Both Francis and Benedict’s letters were addressed to Vatican Foundation president Fr Federico Lombardi SJ and Read more
Australia’s focus on the Pacific region ignores needs and priorities identified by the region’s political and Church leaders, says Caritas Australia’s chief executive officer. Paul O’Callaghan spoke out after Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an expansion of assistance to the Pacific. The assistance will include introducing long-term loans for new infrastructure projects. Infrastructure is Read more
An alt-right group has emerged in the Catholic church that aims to purge it of LGBTQ members. “We haven’t seen anything like this before,” US Fordham University theologian Jason Steidl says. “I think they are part of a bigger cultural movement. These people have hitched their wagons to Trump’s presidency, to his tactics.” Read more
Humanists in the UK say the BBC should open up Radio 4’s Thought for the Day to non-religious voices. Humanists UK has campaigned for 16 years to open Thought for the Day. Last year, the BBCs review of religious and ethics output rejected any change to the format. The corporation said Thought for the Day Read more
Pope Francis met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the Vatican last week 15 for a private discussion that included the importance of building greater trust between Israelis and Palestinians. The Vatican says they spoke about the importance of mutual trust in negotiations “so as to reach an accord respecting the legitimate aspirations of both Read more
Italian Catholic priest Alessandro Minutella has been excommunicated for spreading “heresy and schism.” The Archdiocese of Palermo has published the formal decree concerning Minutella’s “latae sententiae” excommunication. In canon law, once certain crimes are committed, they are punished latae sententiae, or “automatically,” by force of the law itself. According to the Code of Canon Law, Read more
The Vatican has told US Catholic bishops not to vote on proposed new steps their Conference has developed to address the clergy sex abuse crisis. The directive not to vote came from the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, said US Conference of Catholic Bishops president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo. DiNardo said he was told the evening before Read more
Pope Francis has appointed Malta’s Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna as adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Congregation is the Vatican office that processes sex abuse cases globally and examines appeals (in matters of grave offence). The announcement came as the Vatican prepares for a summit meeting of the presidents Read more