Pope Francis has opened the Jubilee Year of Mercy by calling for a Church that always puts mercy before judgement. In a Mass at St Peter’s Square on December 8, Francis said the holy year is a gift of grace. “How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we affirm that sins Read more
A cardinal has said natural birth control could “offer a solution” to the impacts of climate change, particularly the lack of food in a warmer world. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana told the BBC the Church has never been against natural family planning. During the Pope’s trip back from the Philippines, the Pontiff invited people Read more
The bishops of England and Wales have rejected a proposal to ordain married men to the priesthood. Bishop Seamus Cunningham of Hexham and Newcastle proposed the motion at the bishops’ plenary meeting last month. He did this on behalf of the Council of Priests in his diocese. The proposal was rejected after a “thoughtful discussion”, Read more
An Indian cardinal has said he believes that the sexual orientation of homosexual people might well be given by God. In an interview with The Hindu, Cardinal Oswald Gracias said he knows “there is still research being done whether it’s a matter of choice or matter of orientation and there are two opinions on this matter”. Read more
The coronation of the next monarch of the United Kingdom needs to reflect pluralist modern Britain, a new report states. The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life has also called for the number of Church of England bishops in the House of Lords to be reduced. The report, titled “Living with Difference”, Read more
Pope Francis has ordered an unprecedented external audit of the Vatican’s wealth, including St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. The audit will look at financial investments, real estate and cultural assets. It will be performed by Price Waterhouse Coopers and will start immediately, said Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ. Assets that would never Read more
Bishops in England and Wales are discouraging the reading of secular poems or non-biblical texts during marriage liturgies. A new translation of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony will be used in England and Wales from Easter Sunday, 2016. A new translation of the Order of Confirmation will also be introduced on that date. In their the summary of Read more
The Islamic State has hijacked a Sydney Catholic church website and replaced its homepage with a graphic video and threatening message. The video relayed footage of gruesome deaths of Islamic State victims who have been beheaded, shot and even burned alive in the Middle East. “Hacked by Islamic State”, the text on the black homepage Read more
South Korea’s parliament has approved a bill that will require the nation’s clergy to pay taxes from 2018. South Korea has an estimated 360,000 priests and monks whose earnings will be re-classified as “religious income”, rather than the current label of “honorarium”. A sliding scale means those earning 40 million won (US$34,500) or less a Read more
Capping compensation payments to abuse victims saved Melbourne archdiocese A$62 million, according to calculations by an Australian newspaper. The Melbourne Response, which was created in 1996 by then-Archbishop George Pell, capped payments to victims at $A50,000 and then $A75,000. But a Sunday Age analysis of data compiled by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Read more