A spokesman for a priests’ association in Ireland has warned that bringing overseas priests in to plug vocations gaps could empty Irish churches. Fr Brendan Hoban of the Association of Catholic Priests said that there is a risk that old fashioned pastoral approaches by overseas priests could empty some Irish parishes in a decade. Two Nigerian priests have Read more
A Sicilian priest has been ordered not to celebrate Mass at a centre after he told people to drink ‘sacred’ water from a spring revealed by the Virgin Mary. Fr Alessandro Minutella from Carini has been leading his congregation in prayer at the water source and has wanted to distribute water. Fr Minutella believes the Read more
Senior Vatican officials have voiced discontent with the way recent changes in Church law on annulments was handled. In a seven-page dossier, obtained by German newspaper Die Zeit, the officials express concerns over an absence of consultation on the matter. They complained that no curial departments, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Read more
Europeans are resisting having children due to a culture of comfort, with declining birth rates leading to increased migration, Pope Francis said in an interview. In a wide-ranging interview with a journalist from Portuguese radio station Renascença, the Pontiff said he wasn’t pointing his finger “at anyone in particular”. “When there is an empty space, people Read more
American Cardinal Raymond Burke has warned about watering down the language around unions outside marriage. Addressing students at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio earlier this month, Cardinal Burke discussed attacks on family life and the Church’s response. He said students must be wary of abandoning natural law and watering down faith and tradition Read more
The Church’s Melbourne Response for helping abuse survivors discouraged victims from contacting police, a royal commission case study has found. Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse issued a case study this week into the programme instituted by then-Archbishop George Pell in 1996. The study identified 12 systemic issues. One issue was Read more
Priests, rabbis, imams and other British religious leaders will be subject to Government-specified training and security checks according to a new proposal. Such religious leaders could also have to enrol in a “national register of faith leaders”, as part of the UK Government’s new counter-extremism strategy. A leaked draft of the strategy from the Home Read more
A cardinal says the Church must look for the good in relationships that don’t conform to a marital ideal, citing an example of a stable gay relationship. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna said in an interview with La Civilta Cattolica that the bishops at next month’s synod on the family should not take a stance Read more
A bill aiming to legalise doctors helping terminally ill people commit suicide has been overwhelmingly defeated in Britain’s House of Commons. The private member’s bill, sponsored by Labour’s Rob Marris, was defeated 330-118, with 220 MPs absent at the vote on September 11. Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark said he hoped the result meant that Read more
Some 500 activists wanting women’s ordination will gather for a meeting in Philadelphia one week before Pope Francis arrives in the city. The US-based Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) is hosting the Women’s Ordination Worldwide meeting from September 18-20. The gathering will assess the place of women in church and society and develop plans to advance Read more