Though the Vatican has denied that Pope Francis exorcised a man in St Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday, debate continues over whether the blessing he gave could be classed as an exorcism. After celebrating Mass, the Pope blessed several people in wheelchairs. When he held his hands on one man’s head, the man shuddered and Read more
Invoking just-war criteria, the United States Catholic bishops have questioned the moral legitimacy of the Obama administration’s use of drones in counter-terrorism actions. “Targeted killing should, by definition, be highly discriminatory,” said letters from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon and members of Congress. The letters questioning the use Read more
The Code of Canon Law is in the process of revision, with the focus particularly on strengthening the section that deals with offences and penalties. The work is in the hands of Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, who says the current code was drafted in the 1970s, “a Read more
The gay rights group Stonewall, which campaigns for the legalisation of same-sex marriage, says it has been invited into several Catholic schools in England to give staff lessons on preventing “homophobic bullying”. After St Mary’s Primary Catholic School in Wimbledon, south London, confirmed inviting Stonewall to help staff address issues concerning homophobia and discrimination, the Read more
The new Vatican financial watchdog set up to prevent money-laundering says it uncovered six “suspicious transactions” last year, one involving the Vatican Bank. Two of those cases were forwarded to Vatican prosecutors for further investigation, and the other four may still warrant more formal probes, the Financial Information Agency said in its first annual report. Read more
In his first address on the world economy, Pope Francis has called for global financial reform that respects human dignity, helps the poor and promotes the common good. “Money has to serve, not to rule,” he told a group of diplomats. He called for ethical financial reform that would “benefit everyone” and for the world Read more
Several Christian and pro-life groups in the United States have alleged they were unlawfully targeted by the Inland Revenue Service in an apparent effort to curtail their activities. One of them, the Christian pro-life group Cherish Life Ministries, said it was told by an IRS agent that the organisation did not qualify for non-profit status Read more
The patriarch of Syria’s Catholics has said Western nations are responsible for the carnage in Syria, where the morale of Christians is “very, very low”. Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan said the present situation in Syria is the result of Western nations carrying out a geopolitical strategy “to split Syria and other countries” in Read more
Giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse in Victoria, Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne has said the Catholic Church could do better to protect whistleblowers raising concerns about paedophile behaviour at its institutions. He said the Church was working to improve its processes to help whistleblowers. “I always think there’s room for Read more
A controversial Russian artist is using blood donated by Catholics in politically motivated art works being exhibited in Northern Ireland. In Andrei Molodkin’s “Catholic Blood” exhibition, freshly donated human blood from a pharmaceutical refrigerator is pumped through a replica of the rose window adorning the façade of the British Houses of Parliament. In an adjoining Read more