Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has called for the removal from Vatican offices of artwork by Fr Marko Rupnik, a priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of adult women. O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), urged Vatican offices to exercise pastoral prudence and avoid displaying Rupnik’s art, which could Read more
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has formally charged Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó with schism. This could lead to his excommunication and removal from the clerical state. On 20th May, senior officers of the Vatican’s Dicastery opened an extrajudicial penal trial against Viganó. The decree states that this process was deemed appropriate Read more
Five new complaints of alleged abuse committed by Father Marko Rupnik have been presented to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, where an investigation into the case is being carried out after Pope Francis decided to lift the statute of limitations. The new cases mark the latest development in the case Read more
The Church’s strong anti-abuse protocols are enshrined in law says Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, but they are not being universally applied. “More broadly, the norms adopted by Rome indicate the right direction, but we currently have no mechanism to monitor their implementation.” Zollner, director of the Institute of Anthropology at Rome’s Gregorian University, believes the Read more
The Vatican has narrowed the definition of cases directly overseen by its main doctrinal office, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. On January 30, the dicastery announced that it would specifically investigate and judge cases involving individuals “who habitually have an imperfect use of reason.” This announcement delineates the jurisdiction of the doctrinal Read more
The Vatican has affirmed that transgender individuals are eligible to participate as godparents and witnesses in Roman Catholic sacraments of baptism and marriage, and they can be baptised. The Vatican’s document, signed by Pope Francis and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, was published on the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith website on Read more
A Vatican report into sex abuse allegations against Christopher Saunders, the former Bishop of Broome, has sparked renewed interest from the Western Australian police. The police have twice investigated Saunders (73) and not charged him, and are now calling on Church authorities to allow them to see the report. The Vatican report identifies Saunders as Read more
Cardinal-elect Víctor Manuel Fernández, set to lead the Vatican’s chief doctrinal office, has expressed his readiness for theological debates, emphasising their role in deepening the Church’s grasp of the Gospel. In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Fernández (pictured) acknowledged that while the core doctrine remains unchanged and the Gospel is immutable, the Church Read more
Pope Francis met with Cardinal Luis Ladaria on Tuesday morning to thank him for his six years as head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The pope visited the dicastery shortly after 9 am on Sept 5, the Vatican said in a brief statement. Francis also greeted other dicastery officials after meeting Read more
Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, the newly appointed prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, recently addressed his appointment by asserting, “I will do it my way.” In his first interview since assuming the role, Archbishop Fernández (pictured) spoke about various pressing issues, including clerical abuse, the German Synodal Way, same-sex blessings and Read more