On June 25, the Civil Tribunal of Mechelen, in Belgium, made an unusual ruling against two Roman Catholic bishops. Jozef De Kesel, the former Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, and Luc Terlinden, the current Archbishop of the same Archdiocese, have been ordered to pay a fine of 1,500 euros to a woman named Veer Dusauchoit. The woman Read more
A newly named top adviser to Pope Francis believes that it might one day be possible to revisit Pope John Paul II’s prohibition on the ordination of women to the priesthood. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a leading organiser of the Vatican’s ongoing synod process, also said that the church’s language of describing LGBT persons as Read more
Seven women’s ordination advocates were detained outside the gates of the Vatican protesting the lack of women attending a meeting of 197 cardinals, patriarchs and priests. The women stood outside the gates of the Vatican dressed in cardinal red, each carrying a scarlet parasol emblazoned with a phrase of female empowerment. “Ordain Women”, “Reform Means Read more
Hong Kong’s Bishop Stephen Chow expressed hope on April 13 for the Catholic ordination of women, joining several European bishops who have expressed similar sentiments in recent years. During his homily at the Hong Kong diocesan Chrism Mass, Bishop Chow said he had “turned to English, just to address our ordained brothers, and I hope Read more
A prominent bishop in the Brazilian Amazon has said there is marked disappointment in the region over the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia. Erwin Kräutler, the bishop emeritus of Xingu in the Brazilian Amazon, expressed concern that not a word was said about opening up the Sacrament of Holy Orders to married men and ordaining Read more
Culture warrior Catholics are falling prey to fundamentalism and bigotry says a Czechoslovakian academic. Warning the positive content of faith has become emptied, Father Tomáš Halík quotes the former Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini; “I am not so much afraid of people who do not have faith; what disturbs me are people who do Read more
A member of the International Theological Commission says she is no longer available to participate in the “binding synodal path” proposed by the German bishops’ conference. Marianne Schlosser, who is a professor of theology at the University of Vienna, says she is concerned about the path’s approach and methodology. She was invited to contribute to Read more
Ordaining women is not allowed by canon law – but despite this American woman, Mary Alice Nolan, is going ahead with her ordination as a Catholic priest. The 64-year-old’s ordination will not be acknowledged by the Catholic church, which only allows men to become priests, but the lifelong follower of the faith is not letting Read more
The National Catholic Reporter, a widely-circulated United States newspaper, has called for the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood. “Barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand,” the paper said in a December 3 editorial. Continue reading