Rejoice and be glad Jesus tells those persecuted or humiliated for his sake. The Lord asks everything of us, and in return he offers us true life, the happiness for which we were created. He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence. The call to holiness is Read more
A new apostolic exhortation has been released by the Vatican. An apostolic exhortation is considered one of the highest ranking papal documents after Encyclical Letters. The latest exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and be glad”), focuses on the call to holiness in the contemporary world. The exhortation’s title comes from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:12). This Read more
The seminarian who carried the cross at Pope Francis’s Easter Mass died unexpectedly the following day. Legionary of Christ Brother Anthony Freeman of Houston was 29. Read more
Survivors of a Canadian system that forced generations of indigenous children into mainly Catholic-run boarding schools won’t be getting an apology from Pope Francis. The Canadian Council of Bishops (CCB) said last week “after carefully considering the request” for an apology, Francis “felt that he could not personally respond”. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed Read more
The Knights of Malta have suspended the author of a book accusing Pope Francis of governing the Church like a Latin American dictator. The lay religious order has distanced itself from the book, which members describe as “biased”. In his book “The Dictator Pope”, Henry Sire describes Francis as an “authoritarian, manipulative and politically partisan Read more
A Vatican-China agreement over the selection of bishops is rumoured to be likely to take place this week. Speaking at a conference entitled “Christianity in the Chinese Society: Impact, Interaction and Inculturation” in Rome late last week, Cardinal John Tong Hon said he supports the proposed agreement. The agreement would see the Vatican propose a Read more
The church needs to update its teachings on issues like same-sex marriage and contraception, young people told Pope Francis last week. Three hundred young people who came from all over the world to meet Francis also had words for the Church hierarchy. It should be a “transparent, welcoming, honest, inviting, communicative, accessible, joyful and interactive Read more
The Vatican’s communications chief, Monseigneur Dario Viganò has resigned. His resignation comes a week after his department twice omitted information it gave the media about a letter by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI. Viganò wrote to Pope Francis on 19 March offering his resignation. “In recent days many controversies have arisen regarding my work which, beyond Read more
A Polish priest who said in a homily last month he wished Pope Francis would die an early death has been called to account by his archbishop. Father Edward Staniek was evidently reacting to Francis’s call for Catholics to take in Muslim refugees because it was their Christian duty. “I pray for the Pope in Read more
Australia’s Catholic Church is making plans to hold the country’s first Plenary Council in over 80 years. Pope Francis has approved the national ecclesiastical gathering. The Plenary Council will meet twice – once in central Australia in late 2020 and again on the eastern seaboard in mid-2021. The Council’s aim is to make plans to Read more