A Belgian bishop has urged the synod on the family to have the courage to bring the Church’s moral teachings more in line with the lived experience of the laity. In a letter reported by The Tablet, Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp said there is a gap between the moral teachings of the Church and Read more
Five cardinals have joint-authored a book that finds current Church doctrine regarding divorced and remarried Catholics is the most merciful approach. “Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church” has been written by Cardinals Gerhard Müller, Raymond Burke, Walter Brandmüller, Carlo Caffarra, and Velasio De Paolis. Four theologians and professors Read more
The Vatican is restricting the sale of plaques and parchments with papal blessings, stopping Rome souvenir shops selling them from next year. Shops close to St Peter’s Square have been selling such blessings at a considerable profit. But Bishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, said that beginning on January 1, 2015, such papal blessings will Read more
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. Cardinal Brady had turned 75 in August and according to Church law, bishops are asked to submit their resignations to the Pope at that stage. The Pope can either accept or reject the resignation. Cardinal Brady, Read more
Former Israeli president Shimon Peres has asked Pope Francis to head a United Nations of religions to counter religious extremism. In an interview with Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana, Mr Peres said religion is a predominant justification used for wars today, whereas in the past nationhood was the main motivation. So he proposed a “United Religions” Read more
The vacancy at the head of the Vatican’s congregation for worship is an opening for a liturgical overhaul in the Church, a Jesuit commentator believes. Writing in the National Catholic Reporter, Fr Thomas Reese, SJ, stated that liturgical reform was stalled by the papacies of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. True liturgical reform Read more
The cause for beatification of American evangelist Archbishop Fulton Sheen has been suspended indefinitely because of a spat between two US dioceses. In a September 3 communiqué, the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen was born, announced that the cause was suspended “for the foreseeable future” and would be assigned to a Vatican archive. This Read more
A top Vatican official at the United Nations has linked the recruitment of young people by Islamist terror groups with Europe having failed its young. The Holy See permanent observer at the UN office in Geneva, Archbishop Silvio Tomasi, said Europe needs to ask itself some hard questions. “Europe should ask itself why it has Read more
The Catholic Archbishop of Westminster will join the Archbishop of Canterbury and representatives of other faiths to bury King Richard III next year. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster said it is fitting that King Richard’s “remains should be reinterred with dignity and accompanied by the prayers of the Church in Leicester Cathedral, the mediaeval parish Read more
The number of women on the International Theological Commission will soon be trebled, says the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In an interview in L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Gerhard Müller said the number of women will be rising from two to “five or six”, following new nominations by Pope Francis. The commission, Read more