The Vatican prosecutor is being urged to investigate all cases of money laundering and terrorist financing. Moneyval, which is the Council of Europe’s monitoring body, also says the prosecutor should be more “proactive” in other financial crimes. These include corruption, embezzlement and abuse of office. Furthermore, Moneyval says the prosecutor should “actively consider appealing sentences Read more
North America’s largest Catholic church is now complete. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC took 100 years from the first turn of the spade until the dome was complete. After the Crypt Church was finished in 1931, construction on the Upper Church began. This halted during the Great Depression Read more
Ex-offenders on probation in Oldham, England, can be sure of at least one present: they are given Christmas gifts from a local church. In a tradition that started 20 years ago, the Shore Edge Methodist Church have donated presents to those on probation “as an ultimate offer of redemption”. Read more
The Hong Kong Catholic Church will recruit more married men to reach out to the needy. The church is also encouraging more young people to join the priesthood. Read more
Pope Francis has approved the Argentinian bishops’ interpretation of his apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love). The bishops have published a document saying some divorced and remarried Catholics may receive Holy Communion. Francis says the document “explains precisely the meaning of Chapter VIII of ‘Amoris Laetitia.’ There are no other interpretations.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Read more
Jerusalem was formally recognised by the United States (US) as the capital of Israel on Wednesday. At the same time, President Trump announced plans to eventually relocate the US Embassy to the holy city. Pope Francis responded to the change in US policy, saying he wants the “status quo” to remain. He says he is Read more
There was a catastrophic failure of leadership in the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat’s handling of clergy child sex abuse, says Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. The Commission’s report says a culture of secrecy and failures in the church’s structure led to children being abused across the diocese over a number of decades. Read more
Katy Perry and the Los Angeles (LA) archbishop have been awarded a combined $10 million in punitive damages by a jury over the sale of a Los Feliz convent. The sale was contested in Los Angeles Superior Court by LA-based designer and restaurateur Dana Hollister and a group of elderly nuns. American singer and songwriter Read more
Meghan Markle volunteered with a group at a soup kitchen on Skid Row in Los Angeles when she was 13. Markle, who is Prince Harry’s fiancee, says on the first day she “felt really scared. “I was young, and it was rough and raw down there, and though I was with a great volunteer group, Read more