Four Belfast Catholic families have been forced to flee their homes after sectarian threats. They have been living in a social housing project which is supposed to be a flagship cross-community development. People of various religions live there. One of those who fled said police had visited his home on Tuesday night, telling the family Read more
Pope Francis has reappointed Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest court. Burke had earlier served as a prefect of the court for six years. It is nearly three years since Francis removed him. Over that time Francis has removed or failed to reappoint Burke as a member of the Vatican’s Read more
An Irish bishop’s comments about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that prevents cervical cancer are “completely irresponsible” and could put girls’ health at risk, the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has said. Bishop Phonsie Cullinan told a news outlet he has “serious concerns” about the vaccine. He claims it offers “no absolute guarantee” of “full Read more
A Church-sponsored international summit on how to protect children from online sexual exploitation is taking place in Rome this week. Discussion topics include how children and teenagers can be protected from sextortion, sexting, cyber-bullying, harassment and exploitation. The Vatican’s top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is among those addressing the summit. His talk is entitled: “The Read more
Pope Francis may have indirectly answered the four “dubia” cardinals who challenged him last year over Amoris Laetitia, his 2016 teaching on family life. In a question and answer session with members of the Jesuit order in Colombia earlier this month, Francis referred to the dubia, saying: “I want to repeat clearly that the morality Read more
A three-year-old girl has been chosen to be Kathmandu’s new “living goddess” (Kumari). Uddhav Man Karmacharya, a Hindu priest who attends to the Kumari, says according to an ancient tradition the child will take her place on the Kumari’s throne after prayers and tantric rituals are performed. When she is anointed she will be allowed Read more
Annual Scottish Household Survey data suggest in seven years Catholics could become the largest faith group in Scotland. Over 10,000 people take part in the annual Scottish Government study, which is designed to give a general view of the country’s demographics. While 51 per cent of Scots don’t belong to any religion, just under 14 Read more
We need to get involved with politics as we can’t improve our political landscape by observing and judging from afar, says Pope Francis. This should always be done in a spirit of charity and helpfulness, he added. “Try to act personally instead of just looking and criticising the work of others from the balcony. “If Read more
The first independent Vatican auditor-general and the Vatican are telling different stories about why he resigned in June. Libero Milone says he was accused of spying after opponents of Pope Francis’ financial reforms mounted a campaign against him. The Vatican press office says Milone was “going outside his competencies and illegally hired an external company Read more
A far-right party’s success in Germany’s national elections on Sunday will need to be handled with dignity, the German bishops conference says. Cardinal Reinhard Marx is urging “verbal disarmament” and says the German parliament (Bundestag) has a special dignity which must take priority in political confrontations. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the first far-right Read more