Christian unity took another step closer last Sunday when Pope Francis became the first pope to visit an Anglican church in Rome. “True, solid communion grows and is built up when people work together for those in need,” Francis said. “Through a united witness to charity, the merciful face of Jesus is made visible in our Read more
World
Feminists debate – is the church anti-woman?
Monday, February 27th, 2017
Feminists slugged out the question: is the Church anti-woman? at the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought’s 10th annual Great Debate in Boulder, Colorado, last week. Dr. Mary Anne Case, a law professor at the University of Chicago, answered in the affirmative, while Erika Bachiochi, a visiting fellow at the University’s Ethics and Public Policy Center, Read more
Parish priests are called upon to support marriages
Monday, February 27th, 2017
Parish priests are called to support married couples, Pope Francis said on the weekend. This includes supporting young people who are living together and people whose marriages are failing as well as those with strong marriages. In general, he said parish priests are the ones a couple comes to when they decide to marry, when Read more
Australia’s archbishops split over confessional secrecy
Monday, February 27th, 2017
Australia’s archbishops expressed very different views on whether information children “confess” about abuse should be kept private, last week. They were being quizzed at the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. One of the questions they were asked related to a fictional child called ‘Sally’ who reported abuse to them in Read more
Dutch prime ministerial candidate calls Muslims “scum”
Monday, February 27th, 2017
Dutch prime ministerial candidate Geert Wilders has added to what his opponents call “a long string of insults”, calling Muslims “scum”. Ebubekir Ozture, director of the Muslim umbrella group Contact Organ Muslims and Government, called Wilders comments “reprehensible.” “Moroccans and Muslims are accustomed to such outbursts from Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is riding high Read more
Pope’s homily swipes at hypocritical Catholics
Monday, February 27th, 2017
The Pope’s homily at a morning Mass last week took a closer look Catholics who live a “hypocritical double life.” They should not put off conversion, he said. He suggested for hypocrites include people who go to Mass and belong to associated church organisations and then fail to pay their employees properly, or launder money. Read more
Former Vatican bankers convicted of minor offenses
Monday, February 27th, 2017Two former Vatican bankers have been convicted of minor money-laundering violations. Their violations involved communications involving three small transfers. They were sentenced to four months, 10 days each. Read more
Condoms distributed by Catholic aid group
Monday, February 27th, 2017Condoms are being distributed by a Catholic aid group in South Sudan. Justifying his group’s actions, the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) president Bruce Wilkinson, said “there are women in Africa who need to be protected by a condom.” A past president of CMMB, John Galbraith, said the keys to fighting AIDS are: “abstinence, be Read more
Aleppo conditions still “dire”
Monday, February 27th, 2017Aleppo and the conditions people have to live in are still “dire” says a Syrian priest. Father Ziad Hilal said “Previously, the dollar used to be worth 50 Syrian pounds, today it is equivalent to more than 520 Syrian pounds. Ten times more! The people of Aleppo lack money to live on, few people have Read more
Vatican says “no” to exploiting pope’s image
Thursday, February 23rd, 2017
Protecting the Pope’s image and official coat of arms “against cases of illicit use and exploitation for unauthorized profit” tops a Vatican to do list. The Vatican said the new focus is not related to the illegal posters and newspapers criticising Pope Francis that have appeared in Rome over the past weeks. The Vatican Secretariat Read more