The Church’s social teaching, news and commentary are now available at the App Store. The Catholic Social Teaching App is a product of The Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington DC think tank. The App provides a selection of papal encyclicals ranging from Pope Francis’ 2013 “Lumen Fidei” back to Pope Leo XII’s 1891 Read more
Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley has added his surprise to the content of the UN’s report into the Vatican’s response to sexual abuse. Cardinal O’Malley, in a blog post, said he would have thought that the competency of UN commission was to examine the policies and practices of their member nations, and had they focused on that Read more
One year on from his shock resignation, Pope Emeritis Benedict has no regrets. Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who as well as being head of Pope Francis’ household also works for the former pope told Reuters that as well as having no regrets he holds no resentment against his critics. “It’s clear that humanly speaking, many times, Read more
The number of children in England regularly hearing or reading Bible stories has halved in the last 20 – 30 years. The results come from a study by the Bible Society that says stories such as ‘Noah’s Ark’, ‘Adam and Eve’, and even the story of ‘Christmas’ is at risk of being lost to future Read more
The United Nations is demanding all clergy, known or suspected to be child abusers, be immediately removed from their posts. This is one of many wide-sweeping recommendations on February 5, from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Declaring the Holy See as in breach of the Convention of the Rights of the Read more
The decision by Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary to publish a books of the late Pope’s personal notes is attracting controversy and moral indignation in Poland. Pope John Paul II’s last will and testament requested his notes be burnt. However his former secretary, now Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, is soon due to publish a book Read more
Philomena Lee, the woman whose story inspired the Oscar nominated film “Philomena”, this week attended Mass in St Peter’s Square before meeting Pope Francis at his weekly General Audience. “Philomena” is the movie of Lee’s search for her adopted son. Lee, now 80, was an unmarried mother in Ireland in the 1950’s, and put into Read more
A Jesuit priest trapped in the Syrian city of Homs is warning mental health problems might lead to a breakdown of social order. With the failure of United Nations-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Fr Frans Van der Lugt, told ‘The Telegraph’ that food has run out and starvation is beginning to cause people to lose their Read more
Church teachings on sexual morality are either unknown or rejected as heartless. These are the initial findings in Germany and Switzerland to the Vatican’s worldwide survey, that found most Catholics in these countries dispute Church teaching on birth control, premarital sex, gay sex and banning divorced people from remarrying in the church. The German bishops said Read more
A British government-backed study calculates that every British Pound spent on marriage preparation courses could save the taxpayer up to £11.50. The report follows on estimates that broken relationships cost Britain between £20 – £44 billion annually and emphasises that when the social cost of separation is taken into account successful relationship initiatives could pay for themselves Read more