Pope Francis considered abandoning his priestly vocation after being “dazzled” by a young woman he met at an uncle’s wedding while he was a seminarian. He revealed the experience last year in a book-length dialogue with a rabbi, which will be published in English in May. “I was surprised by her beauty, her intellectual brilliance…and, Read more
Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Brazil has confirmed that he and other cardinals are convinced of the need for reform of the Roman Curia. In an interview with the Italian newspaper Avvenire — which is owned by the Italian Catholic bishops’ conference — he said : “The topic of the Roman Curia has been much discussed Read more
Pope Francis reaffirmed the commitment of the Catholic Church to ecumenical unity at a meeting with several dozen representatives of Christian churches and other world religions who had attended his inauguration. “For my part, I wish to assure, in the wake of my predecessors, the firm wish to continue on the path of ecumenical dialogue,” Read more
The leader of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus has said he will mortgage its assets and invest in government bonds to help pave the way for an international bailout of the financially-troubled nation. The offer by Archbishop Chrysostomos II came after the country’s Parliament rejected a bill that would have allowed the government to seize Read more
A Chinese bishop who was ordained without Vatican authorisation ordained two priests on March 19 — the day of the inauguration Mass for Pope Francis. Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming led prayers for the new Pontiff at the unlawful Chinese ordination ceremony, praying particularly that the Pope could restore unity within the Church. A Read more
A Catholic priest found guilty of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in England revealed to the court that he was in a secret 14-year marriage with a former parishioner. William Finnegan, 59, said he kept the civil marriage a secret from the church and his parishioners. Finnegan, known to his parishioners as Father Bill, was Read more
Seminary enrolments in Australia and the United States are rising, in spite of the sex abuse and other scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church in recent years. In Australia, the seminary intake has risen from about 235 a year in 2007 to 350 in 2012. The rector of Holy Spirit Seminary in Queensland, Monsignor Read more
Cardinal Wilfred Napier of Durban has apologised for describing paedophilia as a “psychological disorder” and not “a criminal condition” that deserves punishment. The cardinal had told BBC Radio 5 live that people who were abused as children and became paedophiles were not criminally responsible for their actions in the same way as somebody “who chooses Read more
More than 17 people died and about 150 others were injured following a freak fireworks explosion during a Catholic procession in a small village in Mexico. The explosion in the village of Jesus Tepactepec was ignited when a stray firework fell into a truck carrying other fireworks. Some of the victims may have also been Read more
News that Prince Charles is learning Arabic so he can read the Qur’an in its original language has prompted speculation about the heir to the throne’s fascination with Islam. The Prince is on record as saying that “Islam can teach us today a way of understanding and living in the world which Christianity itself is Read more