The Borgias — the most infamous family in the history of the papacy — were victims of a “bad press”, according to a new book. As for Lucretia, she was innocent of incest and poisoning, and died a devout woman. Journalist and historian Mario Dal Bello drew on documents from the Vatican Secret Archive to Read more
The Catholic Church has called for a public acknowledgement of the extent of anti-Catholicism in Scotland following evidence that Catholics are victims of more religious hate crime than any other group. New statistics released by the Scottish government revealed an increase of 26 per cent in religious hate crimes in 2011-2012. Anti-Catholic attacks made up Read more
A call by the Catholic Church in Victoria for mandatory reporting by clergy who become aware of child abuse has coincided with a report that the Church’s Australian treatment clinic for priests shielded known paedophiles from police scrutiny. According to whistleblowers closely involved with the now-defunct Encompass Australasia clinic — which some New Zealand priests Read more
A former St John of God brother who was jailed in New Zealand for sexual abuse has now moved to Sri Lanka after Australian authorities laid hundreds of new charges against him. Fairfax Media in Australia reported that Bernard Kevin McGrath flew out of Christchurch a few months ago, some time after 252 abuse charges Read more
Pope Benedict XVI sent a clear signal about the universality of the Catholic Church when he created six new cardinals on November 24. For the first time in decades, all of the new cardinals came from countries outside Europe. “I want to highlight in particular the fact that the Church is the Church of all Read more
An excommunicated Maryknoll priest who became an outspoken advocate for women’s ordination has been dismissed from his order and the priesthood, but supporters are questioning the manner in which he was removed. A Maryknoll statement said Roy Bourgeois, 74, had been canonically dismissed by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for “disobedience Read more
In the final volume of his trilogy on the life and teachings of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI strongly affirms the authenticity of the Gospel accounts of his birth and childhood by Matthew and Luke. He says the two evangelists set out to “write history, real history that had actually happened, admittedly interpreted and understood in Read more
While protesters in Ireland and India rally against the Irish abortion law following the death of a Hindu woman who was refused an abortion, Ireland’s Catholic bishops have affirmed that the Catholic Church “has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother”. The protests Read more
A court in Pakistan has dropped a controversial blasphemy charge against a Christian girl accused of burning pages from the Koran, but many others are suffering under the same draconian blasphemy law. Rimsha Masih, who is 14 but considered to have a lower mental age, was charged after being accused by a neighbour, a Muslim Read more
Both the Archbishop of Canterbury and his newly-appointed successor are dismayed at the defeat of a proposal to ordain women as bishops in the Church of England. After hours of debate, the proposal for women bishops won the required two-thirds majority from the general synod’s house of bishops and house of clergy, but was four Read more