The Catholic Church in Australia set aside tens of millions of dollars to compensate sexual abuse victims years before it publicly admitted the problem. The Sunday Age reported that a warning was issued by a church insurer to the nation’s bishops as early as 1988. This was more than seven years before the Melbourne Response Read more
The Vatican has reportedly delayed approving France’s ambassador to the Holy See, leading to speculation that this is because the nominee is openly gay. Laurent Stefanini, a close aide of French President Francois Hollande, was nominated in early January. According to The Telegraph in London, the usual time frame for official acceptance is a month and Read more
A cardinal touted as the next pope has said that while some Christians are being martyred for their faith, some in the West are trying to water down the Gospel. Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah said this in a book length interview “Dieu ou Rien” (God or Nothing) published in France last month. Italian Vatican commentator Read more
A cardinal has warned religious against trying to abandon the changes in the Church brought about by the Second Vatican Council. Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz said this to a conference of religious formation directors in Rome last week, according to an article in the National Catholic Reporter. “Do not distance yourself from the Read more
Catholic reform leaders from around the world will meet next week in Ireland for a conference organised by a censured Redemptorist. The International Network of Church Reform Movements conference, organised by Fr Tony Flannery, is expected to attract 40 representatives. Fr Flannery said the topics expected to be discussed include the “reform agenda of Pope Read more
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has told priests not to regard this year’s synod on the family as a “battle”. Speaking at a Chrism Mass at Westminster Cathedral during Holy Week, Cardinal Nichols warned such hostilities can cause “collateral damage”. His comments came a week after he rebuked the 461 priests in England and Wales Read more
In a rare move, the Vatican has publicly defended the recent appointment of a controversial bishop accused of covering up child abuse in Chile. The Vatican press office stated: “Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency Msgr Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of Osorno, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined Read more
Two excommunicated traditionalist bishops plan to consecrate a new generation of bishops to spread their movement which is dubbed “The Resistance”. According to Reuters, French Bishop Jean-Michel Faure said the new group rejected Pope Francis and what it called his “new religion”. Bishop Faure and Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson both incurred automatic excommunications last month Read more
Churches in parts of Germany are up in arms about a proposed weakening of a law which bans public dancing on some religious holidays. The regional government of Baden-Württemberg is considering relaxing the state’s ban on dancing during part of the Easter period and on other Christian holidays, reports The Guardian. The holiday law – Read more
The Vatican’s doctrine chief has lambasted the idea that doctrinal or disciplinary decisions on marriage and family be delegated to bishops’ conferences. In an interview with French Catholic magazine Famille Chrétienne, Cardinal Gerhard Müller called the notion “absolutely anti-Catholic”. The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said the idea does not Read more