The Pope’s recent comments on marriage, which have raised a few eyebrows, do at least contain one statement with which I wholeheartedly agree. It is this: “Marriage is the most difficult area of pastoral work.” As for the rest of what the Pope has said, most of this raises a “Yes, but…” response from me. Read more
Pope Francis has described priests who refuse to baptise the children of young single mothers as “animals”. Francis was speaking at a Q&A session near the end of a pastoral conference of Rome diocese on the family. Crux reported that Francis spoke of a “pastoral cruelty” at the Q&A. An example is priests who refuse Read more
Owen Dolan, emeritus coadjutor bishop of Palmerston North, is pictured above with Pope Francis. He is pointing out to him the presence of the St Vincent de Paul group at the General Audience, just 50 metres away. The photo shows the Pope acknowledging the group with a wave. Bishop Dolan was at the International Assembly of Read more
During last week’s Jubilee for Priests in Rome, Bishop Robert Barron sat down for an interview with CNA where he discussed Pope Francis’ view on the meaning of the priesthood. “In the vision of Pope Francis, (priests) are the key players in communicating the Divine Mercy to the world. He sees that as our primary Read more
Pope Francis has refused a donation from Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri, noting that the amount included the number 666. President Macri had sent 16,666,000 Argentine pesos for Scholas Occurentes, an educational charity the Pope supports. In a note to the charity’s office, the Pontiff said “I don’t like the 666”. The number is associated with Read more
A working group involving the Vatican and Italian dioceses has been set up to interpret Pope Francis’s reform of the marriage annulment process. As part of the reform, Pope Francis repealed aspects of a motu proprio from Pope Pius XI that set up regional tribunals in Italy. In the wake of Francis’s reforms, the Roman Read more
Pope Francis has decried the obsession with perfect bodies, saying it leads society to hide the disabled to avoid offending the privileged. In a homily at a Mass at St Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled, the Pope called for mutual solidarity and acceptance. Francis criticised the modern “objections” Read more
Pope Francis has expressed his deep feelings of horror and condemnation of the killings of at least 50 people in a nightclub in Orlando in Florida. In a statement released by the Vatican on Sunday, the killings were described as a “new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred”. The statement said Pope Francis joined Read more
Pope Francis has raised the memorial of St Mary Magdalene on July 22 to the level of a feast on the Church’s liturgical calendar. A decree titled “ApostolorumApostola” (Apostle of the Apostles) was published by the Congregation for Divine Worship formalising the decision. St Mary Magdalene is recognised as the first to witness Christ’s Resurrection Read more
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has said who Jesus is for him, after being asked the same question put to Peter in Matthew’s Gospel. The question “Who do you say I am?”, in reference to Jesus, was put to Mr Trump by evangelical commentator Cal Thomas in the US. The exchange was published in transcript Read more