The Vatican has removed further sanctions it could have imposed on Irish Marist priest, Fr Sean Fagan, who was silenced in 2008. Society of Mary Superior General Fr John Hannan told CathNews that he is pleased the threat of further sanctions, stipulated in 2010, have been removed and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Read more
An American priest, Franciscan Fr Jerry Zawada, has been removed from public ministry for concelebrating Mass with a woman priest in 2011. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ordered Fr Zawada, 76, to live a life of prayer and penance at a Franciscan Friary in Wisconsin. Fr Zawada, a long time peace and Read more
For decades, many liberation theologians globally have lived with a looming possibility: One day, a letter could arrive from the Vatican contesting their work, even calling it heretical or anti-Christian. Mounting a defense could take years, with long, confidential letters sent back and forth to the Vatican’s powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Read more
In his first public statement on the subject, Pope Francis has called for the Church to continue “decisive action” against clerical sex abuse. The Pope asked the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Müller, to “continue the line desired by Benedict XVI of decisive action regarding cases of sexual Read more
The Vatican congregation that deals with religious life was not consulted over the decision to require the major group of women religious in the United States to reform its statues and programmes, the congregation’s head has revealed. Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Religious, said the lack of discussion over the action Read more
Pope Francis has directed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to “act decisively” on cases of priestly sex abuse. The Pope discussed the congregation’s responsibilities for at least an hour on April 5 with its prefect, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, but the formal statement following the meeting referred only to dealing with sexual abuse. Read more
Cardinal Keith O’Brien is likely to face a Vatican inquiry over the allegations of sexual misconduct that led to his resignation as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, according to The Independent newspaper. It said Vatican spokesmen refused to confirm whether an investigation would be launched but the Scottish Catholic Media Office said it expected Read more
The new promoter of justice at the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has said the news media did the Church a service by uncovering the clerical abuse scandal. “I think that certainly those who continued to put before us that we need to confront this problem did a service,” Father Robert Oliver Read more
An Irish Redemptorist priest at odds with the Vatican over his views on the nature of the priesthood has broken a period of silence imposed a year ago to claim he has been threatened with excommunication. At a press conference in Dublin, Fr Tony Flannery, 66, said he was “threatened with excommunication from the Catholic 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