The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has again strongly defended the Church’s teaching on Communion for the divorced and remarried. In a book length interview published on July 29, Cardinal Gerhard Müller discussed “mercy” and its connection with justice. He also dwelt on the image of the Church as a Read more
The Vatican has suspended ordinations to the priesthood in Ciudad del Este diocese in Paraguay after an apostolic visitation by a senior cardinal. No public announcement has been made about the reason for the suspension, but it will remain in place until Pope Francis resolves difficulties in the diocese. The Vatican ordered an investigation following Read more
Pope Francis has apologised for the complicity of some Catholics in the fascist-era persecution of Italy’s pentecostal and evangelical Christians. While in southern Italy, in Caserta on July 27, Pope Francis made what the Vatican called a “strictly private” visit with 200 pentecostal and evangelical Christians. Francis apologised for the persecution in the 1920s and 1930s, Read more
Germany’s Catholic bishops have acknowledged that churches share responsibility for “war-mongering” in the build up to the First World War. In a statement, the bishops said the Great War’s dimensions were “shocking”. The conflict from 1914 to 1918 left 16 million dead and 21 million wounded. The centenary of the outbreak of the war was Read more
Dr Philip Nitschke, the Australian euthanasia campaigner dubbed “Dr Death”, has had his medical registration suspended with effect throughout Australia. The South Australian Board of the Medical Board of Australia used its emergency powers in making the decision to “keep the public safe”. The measure is an interim action, separate to other inquiries the regulator Read more
The upcoming extraordinary synod of bishops on the family will feature streamlined operations and new rules to help bishops grapple with the issues. That’s what the synod’s general secretary, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, told the Catholic News Service. The extraordinary synod from October 5-19 will be attended by presidents of bishops’ conferences, heads of eastern Catholic Read more
Survivors of clergy sex abuse have called for the resignation of Ireland’s Cardinal Sean Brady following further disclosure of his role in a cover-up. Brendan Boland’s memoir “Sworn to Secrecy” reproduces for the first time an oath of secrecy that he signed and that the then Fr Brady co-signed in the 1970s. When he was Read more
The population of the Philippines topped 100 million on Sunday with the birth of a girl called Chanolyn in a Manila hospital. The baby girl was given a cake, infant clothes and other gifts by health and population commission officers. She is the daughter of Dailin Cabigayan, a resident of Sampaloc, Manila. Baby Chonalyn is Read more
Pope Francis has met Meriam Ibrahim and her family at the Vatican after they fled Sudan, where she recently faced a death sentence. Pope Francis praised Mrs Ibrahim for her steadfast witness to Christ, in refusing to renounce her faith, despite facing a death sentence for apostasy against Islam. The Pontiff spent 30 minutes with Ibrahim, her husband Read more
Sex abuse victims who tell their stories are the new missionaries to the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn says. In an interview with the Canberra Times, Archbishop Christopher Prowse said the Church is going through an “unprecedented crisis”. “There is so much shame, there is so much humiliation with the criminal acts Read more