To combat abuse and protect vulnerable people, France’s Catholic bishops adopted new guidelines last week for priests hearing confessions and giving spiritual counselling. The new measures follow recommendations from the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) which three years ago urged the Church to implement strict directives for confessors. The guidelines specify Read more
For the first time in over a century, the historic Chair of St Peter, a wooden throne symbolising the pope’s magisterial authority, has been removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St Peter’s Basilica to be displayed for public veneration. Pilgrims and visitors can now behold this storied relic directly in front of the basilica’s Read more
As a Florida woman prepares to be sentenced next week for embezzling nearly $900,000 from the parish where she worked, a retired IRS investigator says the case shines a spotlight on the need for parishes to implement measures to help detect and prevent theft. In June, Heather Darrey pled guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands Read more
A controversy has broken out over this year’s Christmas tree in the Vatican, destined to come from the forests of Val di Ledro in Italy’s northern Trentino region. Almost 40,000 people have signed a petition to stop 40 fir trees from being chopped down, particularly the so-called Green Giant, a 30m-high specimen around two centuries Read more
Celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in the cathedral of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, will cease effective Dec 1. This is according to a Vatican-approved order that comes almost one year after Pope Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland, one of his most outspoken critics, as head of the diocese. Bishop Joe S Vásquez of Read more
Archbishop Justin Welby has stated that most Anglican bishops recognise the Pope’s primacy, though with a different interpretation from that before the Reformation. Speaking to French newspaper La Vie, Welby shared that, during a 2023 visit to South Sudan with the pope and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Francis was acknowledged as “first Read more
The Church of England and Archbishop Justin Welby face intense scrutiny following revelations that it concealed the extensive abuse committed over several decades by barrister John Smyth. Smyth’s abuse, described as “brutal and prolific”, targeted more than 100 boys and young men at Christian holiday camps in the late 1970s and early 1980s. An independent Read more
Pope Francis made an unexpected visit to Italian politician and former Foreign Minister Emma Bonino, a prominent pro-abortion advocate, at her residence in Rome on Tuesday. Bonino, also known for her work on migrant issues, received roses and chocolates from the Pope, marking a cordial meeting between the two long-acquainted figures. Elected to the Italian Read more
Study results into puberty blocker drugs prescribed as a treatment to transgender people will not be published just yet says lead researcher Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy. She is concerned the US federal-funded research findings could be “weaponised” to oppose gender-transition drugs for minors, as the debate over “gender-affirming care” reverberates through political and medical spheres. “I Read more
My St Christopher medal comes with me everywhere, Pope Francis says. He told the Italian army’s Transports and Materials Corps last Thursday that he was delighted they shared a devotion to the martyr St Christopher – he carries him everywhere and the Corps has had him as their patron since 1954. “I always carry a Read more