Pope Francis’s praise for Humanae Vitae is key to understanding his dual emphases on clear doctrine and pastoral mercy, a senior Vatican observer says. Writing in L’Espresso, Sandro Magister noted there is growing pressure for a change in Church teaching on Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. “There was similarly massive pressure for change in Read more
United States President Barack Obama and Pope Francis met for 52 minutes at the Vatican on March 27, in the first meeting between the two leaders. They discussed international conflicts and the importance of humanitarian and international law, as well as issues of poverty and injustice. According to the Vatican, “the parties discussed questions of Read more
In an interview, Pope Francis has discussed artificial contraception, non-marital civil unions, clergy sex abuse and the role of women in the Church. The wide-ranging interview, marking the first anniversary of Francis’s pontificate, was published in Italy and Argentina. Pope Francis praised Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical “Humanae Vitae”, which prohibited the use of contraception. Read more
Responses to the Vatican’s questions about the family shows Church teaching on sexual morality must change, a German bishop says. Bishop Stephen Ackermann of Trier said the responses show Church teachings in this area are “repressive” and “remote from life” for most Catholics. In a German publication, Bishop Ackermann said it is also no longer Read more
Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott has criticised a pharmacist for asking customers using the pill for birth control, to shop elsewhere. “That would certainly strike me as highly unusual behaviour,” Mr Abbott, a Catholic, told Fairfax Radio on Friday. “Chemists should act professionally”, he said. Mr Abbott said, ”If anyone has a problem with that, Read more
As soon as issues related to poverty, population growth and sexual behaviour arise, contraception is also called into question. At the moment this is also the case of Papua New Guinea. There is indeed a form of “voluntary” or natural contraception when people decide to avoid procreation by orienting their sexual behaviour; and a form Read more
As Pope Francis reaches out to Catholics across the globe to re-energise the Catholic faith, the vast majority of Catholics, world-wide, disagree with Church teaching about contraception, divorce and abortion, but agree with traditional marriage. These are some of the findings of a world-wide poll commissioned in 12 countries, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Read more
Fr Giorgio Licini, who was quoted by Agenzia Fides report that featured in a recent CathNews piece, says the original article takes a broader view than that provided by the Fides report. He says he would also like to I also clarify that he always refer to artificial and indiscriminate contraception practices. What follows is Read more
Papua New Guinea “does not need to promote family planning or practices such as contraception and abortion,” said Father Giorgio Licini, secretary of the Commission for Social Communications for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon Islands Licini told the news agency Agenzia Fides that the increase in population in Papua Read more
Scientists at Monash University in Melbourne say they have discovered a way to make male mice temporarily infertile, which could lead to a male contraceptive pill being available within a decade. AAP reports that deleting two proteins essential for sperm transport has been found to make male mice temporarily infertile . “Our technique is good Read more
