Pope Francis has personally written a letter to Chile’s bishops to thank them for changes they have made to their response to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy. Francis’s handwritten letter follows the bishops’ formal, written apology for failing to listen to clerical abuse victims. In addition to their apology, the bishops have made a Read more
Lutheran-Catholic unity may have taken a step forward recently. The Lutheran-Roman Catholic Study Commission on Unity says completed an important ecumenical dialogue phase at a recent meeting. The meeting focused on baptism and growth in communion and built on earlier ecumenical dialogues. These concentrated on baptism, justification, Eucharist, ministry and apostolicity of the church. In Read more
English singer-songwriter Sting and his wife Trudi Styler caught the papal eye at the pope’s weekly audience last Wednesday. Afterwards Sting (former frontman of The Police) tweeted a series of pictures of the moment, with the caption, “Pope Francis is a true rock star! A genuine charisma that filled the room. Read more
Communion services where a priest is not present must stop says US bishop Robert Vasa. These services are “not consistent with the Instructions from the Holy See,” he told Catholics in his diocese. He pointed to an Instruction from the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments issued in 2004. The Instruction says Read more
Catholics in a south Indian diocese want their bishop removed for allegedly misappropriating diocesan funds to lead a luxurious life with his wife and son. Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah, however, has denied the charges as baseless and aimed at tarnishing his image. Aggrieved Catholics have filed a criminal complaint in a trial court in Read more
Most US Catholic religious superiors believe women should be allowed to serve as ordained deacons. The results of a study released last week by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington support women being given greater roles in the church. Seventy-seven percent of male and female superiors in the Read more
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has been accused of anti-Semitism because of an article he has just written about Christians and Jews. In an essay for Communion on Jewish-Catholic relations, Benedict denied the Catholic Church ever adopted “supersessionism.” Supersessionism is the theological belief that God’s covenant through Christ replaced the covenant God made with the Jewish Read more
The Salvation Army wants the Australian government to expel foreign diplomats implicated in cases of slavery in Canberra. This week the Australian Senate committee will hear evidence from industry and human rights bodies about the government’s draft Modern Slavery Bill. Despite media reports on the issue over the past year, the draft bill does not Read more
Priests were among the thousands of prisoners held at Dachau concentration camp during World War II, permanent deacons and their families were told during the 2018 National Diaconate Conference in New Orleans. The priests came from from 144 dioceses and 25 countries and were about a third of the camp’s total population. Of the around Read more
Archaeology has revealed the earliest known bread appears to have been made for use in a ceremonial or religious context some 14,400 years ago. Investigations in a remote desert site in north-east Jordan, suggests that the bread was probably consumed as part of a ceremonial or ritually important communal meal. It is 5000 years more Read more