The Key So much of Pope Francis’ pastoral teaching is summed up in the very first sentence of the recent Declaration on Human Dignity issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her being, and this dignity prevails in and beyond Read more
The question of women, ministry and leadership echoed loudly in parishes and bishops’ assemblies when Pope Francis called two years ago for a worldwide discussion among rank-and-file Catholics about the Church’s main challenges and issues. The question is resounding more loudly as the summit of bishops and lay Catholics known as the Synod on Synodality, Read more
A group of Belgian Catholic bishops have defied the Vatican by introducing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in their dioceses. The bishops of Flanders also published a liturgy for the celebration of homosexual unions. “In doing so, they are going directly against the Vatican,” reported the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad. The Vatican clarified in March Read more
Pope Francis has officially divided the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) into two sections to deal separately with doctrinal issues and disciplinary matters, a move that formalises a practice of the past several years. The pope made the move on Monday by issuing a new “motu proprio” called Fidem servare – “keep Read more
The pope has updated the Church’s procedural norms for dealing with delicts – serious crimes such as schism, sacramental desecration and abuse of minors. On Tuesday, Pope Francis publicised adaptations to the “Norms on the delicts reserved for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”. The following day on 8 December (the feast of Read more
An archdiocese in the Canadian province of New Brunswick has reversed its recent decision requiring proof of double vaccination for parishioners to attend masses, baptisms and prayer groups. Archbishop Valery Vienneau said the decision to change the policy followed a conversation between the four bishops of the Archdiocese of Moncton and the New Brunswick provincial Read more
A mass same-sex blessing across 56 cities in Germany has been labelled “not helpful”. The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, has criticized the upcoming Catholic-backed initiative saying blessings should not be used as a political statement. The blessing service initiative was organised immediately after the Vatican formally said no to same-sex Read more
Several German Catholic leaders are openly supporting the blessing of same-sex couples and overtly challenging the Vatican. A massive blessing service event called “Love wins, blessing service for lovers” has been scheduled for May 10, in direct opposition to Rome’s chief doctrinal office. Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen said priests in his diocese will face Read more
Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has criticised the Vatican for trying to stop priests from blessing same-sex unions. The Archbishop of Vienna has joined more than a dozen German-speaking bishops who have voiced displeasure with the Vatican’s recent effort to reinforce a ban on blessing gay couples. He said the responsum and explanation produced by the Read more
Three cardinals have defended the Vatican Church same-sex blessing ban, while a growing number of bishops publicly denounced the responsum. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on March 15 published a document reiterating the Vatican’s longstanding position that it is “illicit” for Catholic priests to bless same-sex unions. God “does not and Read more