It is no longer “exceptional” that some priests turn down an appointment as bishop, says the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Cardinal Marc Ouellet told the Catholic News Service that this does happen nowadays, but the number of priests who do so is not high. Priests decline an appointment as bishop, which is offered Read more
Two Jesuit academics expect the Church will stay silent on married couples using contraception in countries where the Zika virus is active. Health officials in some Latin American nations have advised women not to get pregnant. This is because the virus, which is typically transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, has been linked to cases Read more
The Vatican’s finance chief has told new bishops that they must not sell land. Cardinal George Pell addressed recently ordained bishops in Rome last September. The Tablet reported that the text of what he said has been released in a book of all the talks given to the bishops. The Prefect of the Holy See’s Read more
An Italian priest is worried at the “quality” of people’s confessions he hears and he believes some penitents are misusing Pope Francis’s words. In a letter to the chiesa website last month, the confessor recounted two instances that illustrated what he believes is a trend. One man, who repented of a series of sins against Read more
A fraudster who posed as a priest and celebrated sacraments for two decades in California has been arrested. Erwin Mena, 59, is alleged to have sold fake tickets for a bogus pilgrimage to see Pope Francis when he visited the United States. Mena allegedly pocketed more than US$15,000 for the con. Despite acting as a Read more
In a Lenten message strong on mercy, Pope Francis has warned the wealthy and powerful that if they ignore the poor, they risk hell. The Pope’s message for Lent 2016 warned about the corrupting influence of money and power. And it pointing out that caring for the poor, and not just praying for them, is Read more
The head of the Church’s doctrinal office has been accused of running a German diocese in a way that resulted in sexual abuse investigations being hindered. The claim against Cardinal Gerhard Müller came from the former chairman of a lay diocesan council in Regensburg, Germany. Cardinal Müller was bishop in Regensburg between 2002 and 2012, before he Read more
A Lutheran bishop and some other Lutherans received Catholic communion at a Mass at St Peter’s Basilica last month. The National Catholic Register reported sources stating that Bishop Samuel Salmi of Oulu in Finland and other Finnish Lutherans indicated to the Catholic priests at the Mass that they wanted a blessing. They reportedly tried to Read more
Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney is undergoing rehabilitation after being hospitalised with an immune-system related syndrome. Shortly before Christmas, Archbishop Fisher contracted a gastrointestinal infection which was complicated by the syndrome. This was later diagnosed as Guillain-Barre syndrome. This is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. Read more
Melbourne’s archbishop has urged Victoria’s Catholic high schools to be sensitive to students who want to bring a partner of the same sex to school formals. Archbishop Hart was asked by Fairfax Media for comment on a case at the Academy of Mary Immaculate in Fitzroy last year. A student at the all-girls school started Read more