American musician Billy Joel has defied white supremacists by wearing the Star of David at a concert at Madison Square Garden, New York. The yellow cloth stars stitched to the front and back of his jacket are identical to the ones Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi regime. It was only in June Read more
A priest in the US has published a statement confessing his Ku Klux Klan past. He joined the KKK as an “impressionable young man” he says. In his Arlington Catholic Herald editorial William Aitcheson says images from last week’s deadly white supremacist and white nationalist rally in Charlottesville “brought back memories of a bleak period Read more
Children fathered by priests must be have their needs “given the first consideration”, say guidelines issued by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference in May. No-one knows how many children have priests or religious as parents. Some suggest there could be thousands. The “Principles of Responsibility Regarding Priests who Father Children While in Ministry” was written Read more
Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s four-day visit to Russia is stacked with meetings with government and Orthodox Church officials. The meetings’ focus is on finding peaceful solutions to global conflicts. After meeting with Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, Parolin – who is the Vatican Secretary of State and its top diplomat – said the meetings so far Read more
Pope Francis is challenging countries to open borders to refugees and put asylum seekers’ safety over national security concerns. His challenge to politicians, made in a detailed position paper on migrants and refugees, is at odds with the policies various governments have introduced to deal with growing anti-immigrant sentiment. Francis isn’t just tackling the movement Read more
Paula White, who is a spiritual advisor to President Donald Trump, says he has been “raised up by God.” “… he is not a polished politician. In other words, he is authentically — whether people like it or not — has been raised up by God,” White said on a television broadcast. Read more
The Pope’s astronomer, who is also the director of the Vatican observatory, says a solar eclipse can teach us a lot about God and creation. It “reminds us of the immense beauty in the universe that occurs outside of our own petty set of concerns,” Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno says. “It pulls us out of Read more
Pope Francis’ commission on clergy abuse is considering whether to restructure itself so that it no longer includes the direct participation of abuse survivors. An option the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is considering involves the possibility of creating a separate advisory panel of individuals who have been abused by clergy. Read more
Australia’s Catholic church is threatening to fire teachers, nurses and other employees who marry their same-sex partner if gay marriage is legalised. The Church’s threats come as opponents and supporters of marriage equality stand firm to their view while the countdown to the federal government’s postal vote to decide the issue continues. The Archbishop of Read more
The Catholic Church in the Philippines is showing itself to be President Rodrigo Duterte’s strongest opponent, criticising and renaming Duterte’s “war on drugs” as “extra-judicial killings”. Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos, where 32 of last week’s 81 victims died, says: “We are all concerned about the number of drug related killings in the province because Read more