The installation Mass of a Chilean bishop accused of complicity in paedophilia cases descended into chaos as protesters tried to climb onto the altar. An estimated 4000 protesters tried to block Bishop Juan Barros Madrid from entering the cathedral in Osorno on March 21. Inside the cathedral, there were clashes between the bishop’s opponents, carrying Read more
The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship has ruled out going back to a 1998 English translation of the Missal. There have been a number of calls to use the 1998 version instead of the current Missal text. Critics have charged that the language used in the current version at Mass is clunky, awkward Read more
The blood of St Januarius liquefied in the presence of a pope for the first time since 1848 on Saturday. The blood of the patron saint of Naples, which is normally solid, partially liquefied after Pope Francis kissed the relic during his day trip to the southern Italian city. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples showed Read more
A public event involving a Medjugorje seer in the United States this month was cancelled at the request of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. But Ivan Dragicevic reportedly had an “apparition” in a private residence in a town in Missouri instead. According to the Medjugorje Today website, Mr Dragicevic “consoled” about 75 Read more
Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide has been charged by police with concealing a child abuse allegation. Archbishop Wilson, who is vice-president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, faces one count of concealing a child sex allegation made against the late Hunter priest Fr Jim Fletcher in the 1970s. In May, 2014, a New South Wales Read more
The Vatican’s top diplomat at the United Nations has called for a co-ordinated international force to stop ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Italian Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said there is a type of genocide happening to Christians and other minorities in these countries, which must be stopped. Archbishop Tomasi told Crux’s John Allen that any anti-ISIS Read more
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has said he will take a message on integrity and unity to the synod on the family. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz is one of four US prelates who will attend the synod in October. In an interview with the National Catholic Register, he was asked what Read more
An American cardinal has publicly criticised Pope Francis in a documentary to be screened on Irish television next week. On “Pope Francis – The Sinner”, Cardinal Raymond Burke says that since Pope Francis’s election two years ago, “there really just is growing confusion about what the Church teaches”. When Cardinal Burke’s term as prefect of Read more
Former Society of St Pius X Bishop Richard Williamson will reportedly consecrate a bishop without the approval of Rome. The Rorate Caeli blog reported the planned consecration this month of Fr Jean-Michel Faure at the monastery of Santa Cruz in Nova Friburgo in Brazil. March 19 is the likely date. Bishop Williamson was one of four Read more
Pope Francis has announced a Jubilee Year of Mercy in order to celebrate God’s forgiveness. The “extraordinary Holy Year” will take place from December 8, 2015, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, to November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. Announcing the closing date, the Pope added a new term to the title Read more