A call has been made for Rome to allow priests silenced for expressing unorthodox views to return to full ministry as part of the Year of Mercy. The annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland this week heard that six of their members had faced sanctions for their views. Among their number Read more
The bishops of England and Wales have appealed to Rome to change the Good Friday prayer for Jews as it is said in the extraordinary form liturgy. The prayer reads: “Let us also pray for the Jews: that our God and Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they acknowledge Jesus Christ is the Saviour of Read more
Lawyers for Cardinal George Pell will cross-examine victims who allege he was complicit in a cover-up of clergy sexual abuse. The move comes despite a commitment by the Australian Catholic Church not to subject victims of child sexual abuse to gruelling cross-examination. Cardinal Pell denies the allegations against him concerning the period when he was Read more
The Vatican trial of three employees and two Italian journalists over publication of leaked documents started on Tuesday amid protest. The trial of Msgr Angel Vallejo Balda, Francesca Jaouqui, Nicola Maio and journalists Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigu Nuzzi started with a 70-minute initial hearing. Recently published books by the two journalists outline instances of past Read more
Atheist scientist Richard Dawkins has strongly objected to three UK cinema chains refusing to screen an advertisement featuring the Lord’s Prayer. The ad, produced by JustPray.uk, shows the Lord’s Prayer being recited by members of the public ranging from bodybuilders to children, and also features the Archbishop of Canterbury. The minute-long ad received clearance from Read more
Pope Francis has described some Catholic priests as so scary and neurotic that he keeps away from them. At a conference on Friday marking 50 years since Vatican II’s declarations on priestly ministry and training, the Pontiff said he is instinctively suspicious of overly pious candidates for ordination. “I will tell you sincerely, I’m scared Read more
An Irish theologian has slated US bishops for making “Humanae Vitae” into a “fetish” by which the Catholic Church is publicly known. Augustinian Fr Gabriel Daly said the 1968 encyclical by Pope Paul VI which banned contraception had never been accepted by the Church at large. The priest, 88, said this is in a lecture Read more
A US archbishop has put the collapse of evangelical life in some European churches down to certain pastoral practices on the sacraments. In an article to be published in the journal First Things next month, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia criticised pastoral approaches that ignore the call to conversion. He wrote about divorced and civilly Read more
The beginning of the renewal of the Church begins in Confession, Pope Francis has told Germany’s bishops. Pope Francis spoke to the German bishops in audience on November 20 and offered a blunt assessment of their nation’s church. The Pontiff said he hoped the Jubilee Year of Mercy might revive the sacraments of Confession and Read more
A UK man has been seriously assaulted by a gang as a result of his converting from Islam to Christianity. Father-of-six Nissar Hussain from Bradford was left needing surgery after the group broke his kneecap and hand on Wednesday. A pickaxe handle was used by one of the assailants. Mr Hussain, 49, is recovering in Read more