In this predominantly Catholic Southeast Asian country, cases of paedophilia are still shrouded in deep secrecy. However, the issue is expected to receive considerable attention in the coming days, as Pope Francis arrived this Monday, September 9, in East Timor, the third stage of his major Asian tour. The 87-year-old pope will visit Dili, the Read more
Growing secularism among younger people is no secret. A 2019 Pew Research Center Survey of Americans aged 13 to 17 found that only 50 per cent believed religion was an important part of their lives, as opposed to 73 percent of their parents. This trend has caught the attention of the United States Conference of Read more
One of the casualties of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was the confidentiality of the Catholic Sacrament of Penance — commonly called ‘the Seal of Confession’. The Catholic bishops who responded to the Commission were unable to convince the commissioners that the seal of confession should continue to be respected, Read more
The decision by the Rolling Stones to remove their 1971 song Brown Sugar from the set list for their upcoming US tour has drawn both praise and criticism. Read by some as a surrender to the “woke brigade” and by others as a reasonable response to the accusation the lyrics glorify “slavery, rape, torture and Read more
In an abrupt volte-face, France’s top Catholic bishop says protecting children from sexual abuse overrules confessional secrecy, the RFIa French news and current affairs public radio station has reported. This remark made by Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort (pictured) completely contradicts the comments he made last week when he suggested priests should not violate the confessional Read more
More than ever, Pope Francis is urging families, educational and public institutions to protect children and tackle the scourge of child abuse. He described child abuse, paedophilia and child pornography, as “psychological murder.” Speaking to members of the Meter Association in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on May 15, the pope noted that the Internet is Read more
Bishop Edward Janiak of Kalisz ignored child sex abuse and shielded paedophile priests, a new documentary about paedophilia within the Polish Catholic Church claims. Tomasz and Marek Sekielsk’s documentary “Playing Hide and Seek”, went viral on YouTube after its release on Saturday. The documentary overshadowed centenary of the birth of popular Polish Pope, John Paul Read more
Paedophilia is a systemic problem and the Church’s efforts to ensure the “accompaniment” of the victims were ‘insufficient,’ says French Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort. The president elect of the Conference of Bishops of France says the need to shed light on the Church’s sex abuse scandals “cannot be considered purely marginal. “It’s a systemic problem Read more
Pope Francis has told the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors he has been learning “on the job” better ways to handle priests found guilty of abuse. He admitted this during his first face-to-face discussion with the Commission on September 21. The Pope said he has come to regret agreeing to a more lenient Read more
The Vatican is disputing the accuracy of comments attributed to Pope Francis on priestly celibacy and the extent of paedophilia in the clergy. On July 13, Rome daily La Repubblica ran an article by its former editor Eugenio Scalfari, based on an interview he did with the Pope on July 10. The Pope reportedly described Read more