Italy’s biggest Catholic diocese, the archdiocese of Milan, has boosted its number of exorcists and set up an exorcism hotline so troubled people can telephone to set up an appointment. To cope with a doubling in the number of requests for help over the past 15 years, the archdiocese has also doubled to 12 the Read more
Australia’s Catholic bishops have decided to set up a special council — including bishops, religious and lay people — to work with the forthcoming royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse. At the end of their twice-yearly conference in Sydney, the bishops said they had formed a supervisory group of representatives from the Read more
A warning from Pope Benedict XVI about lack of faith among Catholics in France has coincided with new research revealing a decline in fervour among Catholics in the United States and a weakening of belief among Catholics in Ireland. Speaking to visiting French bishops, the Pope described ignorance of religion, even “among the Catholic faithful”, Read more
The Catholic Church in the Vatican and in the Holy Land welcomed a United Nations vote on November 29 to accept Palestine as a non-member observer state. But the Vatican called for the further steps of a sovereign independent homeland for the Palestinian people and an internationally guaranteed special statute for the city of Jerusalem. Read more
Pope Benedict XVI has asked bishops to take greater steps to ensure that Catholic charities operating in their dioceses adhere to Catholic teaching and retain their Catholic identity. The Pope said it is the duty of diocesan bishops and parish priests to see that the faithful “are not led into error of misunderstanding” through charitable Read more
Church leaders in the Holy Land expressed support for the United Nations bid by Palestine to gain non-member status as the critical vote drew near in New York. “The Holy Land’s churches unanimously support the Palestinian National Authority’s accomplishment. The soul and prayers of the Holy Land’s Christians ask for this step to be taken,” Read more
While Catholic clergy and bishops in the Philippines are strongly campaigning against politicians who back a controversial “reproductive health” bill, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has declared there is no such thing as a “Catholic vote”. The proposed law seeks to provide funds for services on sex education, family planning and other reproductive Read more
Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey will be among television’s father figures to be studied at an academic conference sponsored by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in the new year. The conference will be called conference “The Figure of the Father in Television Series”, and it will feature speakers comparing how British and American Read more
The British Government has announced an independent review of an end-of-life protocol used in New Zealand hospitals, following allegations that it is being used as a means of euthanasia for the terminally ill. The inquiry will focus on the Liverpool Care Pathway, designed to ease the suffering of patients in their last hours or days Read more
Australia’s Catholic bishops are ready to step aside and let a special committee composed mainly of lay people, including some from outside the Church, handle sex abuse issues, according to the head of the national organisation for religious orders. “A committee is being formed — I don’t know all the details about it — but Read more