The boy who bypassed papal security in 2013 to embrace Pope Francis is now a seminarian. It was at Rio de Janeiro’s World Youth Day (WYD) that nine-year old Nathan de Brito came to fame. He’s the boy who ran to hug the pope and said he wanted to be a priest. “At that moment Read more
A recent Vatican decision to not allow a progressive theologian to become the dean of a theological university in Italy highlights the fractures within the Catholic Church over sexual morality while also hinting at divisions inside the Vatican itself. The Rev. Martin Lintner was selected by its faculty to become dean of the prestigious Theological Read more
The fifteen people to represent the ‘Oceania continent’ at the 2021-2014 Synod were announced in Rome late Friday night. The ‘Oceania continent‘ is the term the Vatican has used for the purpose of the Synod to group Australia and the mission churches in the South Pacific. Of the fifteen, six women and nine men will Read more
What do Cardinal Gerhard Müller and the Reverend James Martin SJ have in common? They are both members of the Roman Catholic clergy who tend to be polarising figures in the Church. The first is a hero of traditionalists, while the second is a champion of those who want reform. And now the German cardinal Read more
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Pope Francis, who has a knack for dropping bombshells in July when his predecessors would normally leave town for a summer holiday. He has again started off the month with a bang by naming Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of La Plata (Argentina) as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Read more
Pope Francis has appointed a like-minded Argentinian to lead the doctrine office at the Holy See. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is one of the Vatican’s most influential departments. Known as an influential papal theological adviser, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez will take up his appointment in September this year. That’s just a Read more
The Catholic Church in the US is undergoing a “silent schism”. Some American Catholics are just “sitting out the papacy of Francis”, the Tablet newspaper reports. Some bishops are using social media to inflame “a uniquely toxic situation”, author and theologian Dr Dawn Eden Goldstein (pictured) says. Speaking to the Tablet about “The Church and Read more
Pope Francis is determined to go to World Youth Day (WYD) in August. He’ll be there despite illness, post-anaesthesia breathlessness and other medical problems. The 86-year old underwent three hours of abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia on 7 June. Yet despite his age, his health is definitely improving. His surgeon says Francis is “better than Read more
Pope Francis has sent a message of support to a conference that will discuss LGBTQ ministry in the Catholic Church this weekend, after right-wing online influencers organized a petition to try and stop the event. The pope is publicly backing the Outreach conference, a three-day meeting set to be held June 16-18 at New York’s Read more