Pope Francis may have indirectly answered the four “dubia” cardinals who challenged him last year over Amoris Laetitia, his 2016 teaching on family life. In a question and answer session with members of the Jesuit order in Colombia earlier this month, Francis referred to the dubia, saying: “I want to repeat clearly that the morality Read more
We need to get involved with politics as we can’t improve our political landscape by observing and judging from afar, says Pope Francis. This should always be done in a spirit of charity and helpfulness, he added. “Try to act personally instead of just looking and criticising the work of others from the balcony. “If Read more
Catholics resisting the acceptance of migrants and refugees into their communities is a worrying trend says Pope Francis. To help counter this, at his weekly audience on Wednesday Francis launched a two-year education campaign “Share the Journey” which is about the plight of migrants. Aimed especially at countering mounting anti-immigrant sentiment in the US and Read more
Some conservative Catholics say parts of Amoris Laetitia amount to heresy and have sent Pope Francis a medieval “filial correction”. Pope Francis published Amoris Laetitia last year after two synods on the Family. Sixty-two clergy, theologians, academics and a bishop from the Society of St.Pius X – a Catholic break-away cult – have written to him 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
Pope Francis has updated the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family. One of the most obvious changes Francis has made is to the Institute’s name. It is now called the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and the Family. Francis says the Institute needs Read more
A New Zealand-born novelist, filmmaker and playwright Anthony McCartin has written a play examining the unusual situation in which there are two living Popes. In a soon-to-be-made Netflix movie version of the play, Jonathan Pryce, who played the role of the High Sparrow in season 6 of The Game of Thrones, will play the part Read more
Not that long ago conservative politicians in the United States could get away with touting their “pro-life” bona fides solely because of their opposition to abortion. Political leaders on the right who slashed safety nets for the poor, denied climate change and made life harder for pregnant women rarely felt any real heat from bishops, never mind Read more
Hillary Clinton was left feeling devastated and angry after losing the US presidential election to Donald Trump. Six months later she was still struggling to understand why she and her supporters should be judged so differently from Trump and his supporters. However in a new book she has just published, Clinton explains how Pope Francis Read more
Fans of the Latin Mass are in Rome on their annual pilgrimage at present. At the conference last Thursday marking the 10th anniversary of Benedict’s decree liberalizing use of the Latin Mass, the meeting organizer, the Rev. Vincenzo Nuara, didn’t even mention Pope Francis in his opening remarks. Among those at the conference was Cardinal Read more