One of Ireland’s best known priests has likened the censure he received from the Vatican to the abuse he suffered as a child and as a seminarian. In an interview for Irish TV, Fr Brian D’Arcy, CP, said it took him years to get over the sexual abuse inflicted upon him. “One never ever gets Read more
A Colombian mariner adrift at sea for two months thanked God and his rescuers after his deliverance in the Pacific Ocean. The 29-year-old had survived by eating fish and gulls. He was one of four sailors who left Colombia in a skiff two months ago. At some point their engine failed and they were left Read more
A Tasmanian transgender activist has withdrawn her anti-discrimination case against the Catholic Church over a marriage booklet. Martine Delaney had complained to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commission about a booklet produced by Australia’s Catholic bishops. The booklet, titled “Don’t Mess with Marriage”, was a pastoral letter from the bishops sparked by the same-sex marriage debate. Ms Delaney Read more
Two US Catholic colleges are adopting housing policies which will allow students of different sexes to share a room based on gender identity. The College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco (USF) will have the gender-inclusive housing policies for the 2016-17 academic year. The USF recently updated its Read more
Cardinal George Pell has pledged to serve his full five-year term as prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy. Although he turns 75 next month, the cardinal plans to continue in his current post until 2019. This was confirmed in a statement his office released late last month. A Crux article reported that, according to Read more
The Vatican’s semi-official newspaper has started a women’s magazine, which is not averse to taking a critical stance over women’s role in the Church. The new monthly magazine “Women-Church-World” was launched this week by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state. His department oversees L’Osservatore Romano, in which the new magazine has previously Read more
The Church’s doctrinal chief has said Pope Francis’s document Amoris Laetitia is in line with previous Church teaching on divorce, remarriage and Communion. The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, told seminarians in Spain that the apostolic exhortation does not change the Church’s discipline in this area. John Read more
Protestors have tried to disrupt an event titled “Man + Woman = Made for each other”, run by a Catholic group at the University of Sydney. Around 60 students with megaphones, rainbow flags and a trombone drowned out large parts of the event organised by the University of Sydney Union Catholic Society on May 4. Read more
There are fears that fires in Orthodox churches in Australia, the United States and Russia at Easter are part of a row over a dead Croatian cardinal. Fires occurred at the churches in New York, Melbourne, Sydney and in Russia during the Orthodox Easter last month. Officials fear the fires may have been started in Read more
Two priests are among 14 people arrested for the alleged kidnapping and assault of an Indian bishop. Police said Fr Raja Reddy engineered the kidnapping and attack on Bishop Prasad Gallela last month and this was motivated by “greed for money and power”. According to police, the suspects confessed to four earlier attempts to kidnap Read more