A Cardinal-elect, Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, says a movie about St Francis of Assisi led him to become a priest. Coutts, who is a doctor of philosophy, is the second Pakistani to become a cardinal. The late Joseph Cordeiro was made a cardinal in 1973. Coutts is known for his services for interfaith relations, Read more
In a way, it was a form of posthumous martyrdom: the once distinguished Jesuit dying in humiliating circumstances, on an errand of mercy, his reputation in tatters and his Jesuit confrères unwilling to offer any defence of his actions. Cardinal Jean Daniélou was a Prince of the Church who had spent the first part of his Read more
Although Scottish archbishop Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien – who has just been divested of his cardinalatial rights and powers (participation in the Conclave and in Consistories) – gets to formally keep the title of cardinal, it remains just that, a decorative title devoid of any significance. As such, he joins a list of 23 other Read more
When the freshly named patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, chose 37-year-old Fr. Loris Capovilla as his private secretary in 1953, a skeptical adviser told the cardinal that the priest looked too sickly to bear the strain of his new job. “Then he’ll die as my secretary,” replied the future pope, now known as Blessed Read more
Pope Francis has dispensed with tradition and ‘tripped the globe’ to announce sixteen new cardinal electors and because of age, three cardinal non-electors in a consistory to be held on February 22. In making his selection, the first of his pontificate, Pope Francis has chosen only 6 Europeans (including 4 Italians). Other cardinal electors come Read more
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
A Roman Catholic cardinal on Tuesday praised Buddhism for instilling the values of wisdom, compassion and non-violence in young people in a message to mark the Buddhist feast day of Vesak. “As Buddhists you pass on to young people the wisdom regarding the need to refrain from harming others and to live lives of generosity Read more