Several Irish bishops have reportedly intervened after seminarians were allegedly asked to leave their studies because they were too conservative. The Irish Catholic understands that out of 10 diocesan seminarians from Maynooth due to return at the end of their pastoral year, six were recommended to take “time out”. But the newspaper pointed to claims Read more
The Archbishop of Sydney has said the hammering Cardinal George Pell is taking over the handling of abuse cases is starting to take its toll. Archbishop Anthony Fisher told Crux that the cardinal has responded to most of these most recent charges several times before. “People think he’s indestructible, but I’ve sensed seeing him this Read more
A campaign led by a Marist priest will see asylum seekers in Sydney given travel concession cards which will help them access services and support. Fr Jim Carty led a campaign by the Sydney Alliance to get the concession for newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers living in the community. For almost six months, members Read more
A young Italian priest given special permission to be ordained two years before he finished his seminary studies has died of cancer. Fr Salvatore Mellone, 38, from Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie archdiocese, died on June 29, two and a half months after he was ordained. When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the young priest was given special Read more
An anti-establishment Spanish nun, who is also a Harvard-educated doctor in public health, is moving into the world of politics. Sr Teresa Forcades, from the Benedictine monastery of Monserrat near Barcelona, is running in the next Catalan election in September. The vote has been dubbed a de facto referendum on independence from Spain. Sr Teresa Read more
A decision by an American museum to display a portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI fashioned from 17,000 coloured condoms has sparked outrage. The artwork titled “Eggs Benedict” was created by Niki Johnson to spark a discussion about sexual health. She said it was inspired by comments made by Benedict during a 2009 visit to Read more
There will be tension at October’s synod on the family between an emphasis on mercy and a notion of cheap grace, a new US bishop says. Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego told the National Catholic Reporter that the “theology of mercy is saying is that the essential attribute of God in relation to us Read more
The Church has to be more than just a fortress of guidelines and norms keeping abusers out and those not abused safe within, a theologian has said. Jesuit Fr James Corkery, a theology professor at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, said the Church also must be an open, welcoming home for those who have been wounded Read more
The Vatican may consider, but is not committed to, divesting its holdings in fossil fuels, an official has indicated. That is despite Pope Francis’s call in his encyclical Laudato Si’ for bold action to fight climate change and global warming, The Guardian reported. At a press conference on July 1, Flaminia Giovanelli from the Pontifical Read more
Questions are being raised about the spending decisions of a controversial Paraguayan bishop whom Pope Francis forced to resign. Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano was told to step down last year as head of the diocese of Ciudad del Este. At the time, the Vatican cited unspecified “serious pastoral reasons”. The dismissal came after Francis sent Read more