A grey and drizzly Rome was under an intense security lockdown on Saturday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to town for the day. The Italian government deployed some 1,500 security agents, stationed snipers on rooftops, and enforced a no-fly zone for the visit of the president whose country continues to fight the troops from Read more
Questions about young people and how to engage with them were the focus of Pope Francis’s conversation with Hungarian Jesuits last month. “How do we best engage with young people?” he was asked. “For me the key word is testimony,” Francis responded. “Without testimony, without witnessing, nothing can be done. “You end up like that Read more
Making reparation to clergy sex abuse survivors is critical, Pope Francis told the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Friday. “The sexual abuse of minors by clergy and its poor handling by Church leaders has been one of the greatest challenges for the Church in our time. “Now is the time to repair Read more
Pope Francis has returned from touring Hungary, a bastion of European conservatism, where his mixed messaging is seemingly at odds with national sentiment. At a Mass celebrated Sunday in Budapest, His Holiness called on the Hungarian government — led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President Katalin Novák, both Christian, neither Catholic — to loosen Read more
Lay people, especially women, will benefit from the Pope’s decision to expand those allowed to vote in the Synod on Synodality’s concluding discussions to include women, say leading Asian theologians. They agree the decision will compel Asia’s national churches to widen male and female lay Catholics’ participation in Church activities. The ruling means “the universal Read more
Isten hozott Magyarországon! That’s a common way of saying, “Welcome to Hungary!” Literally, it means God (Isten) brought you here. And in the case of Pope Francis’ weekend visit to Budapest, the nation’s picturesque capital straddling both sides of the Danube, one could also say “ITA hozott”. ITA, of course, is currently Italy’s flagship airline. Read more
It’s been nearly 14 centuries since the monastery founded by St Hild of Whitby, a prominent abbess in 7th century Anglo-Saxon England, hosted the Northumbrian kingdom’s assembly. There they would discuss the date on which its Christian church would celebrate Easter. That assembly, or synod, would bring the kingdom’s church in line with the Catholic Read more
Theologians and Catholic Church reform groups are overjoyed lay men and women will be full voting members at the upcoming Synod of Bishops. This is the first time any Pope has allowed lay people to do this. It is a substantial development, say several prominent experts. The changes “make the synod more rooted in the Read more
The Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis said on Sunday, adding that it was also ready to help repatriate Ukrainian children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied land. “There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it Read more
There are many ways to be Catholic. The comment comes from the West Australian archbishop and member of the preparatory committee for the General Assembly of the Synod, Timothy Costelloe. He says that ongoing consultation with Catholics worldwide needs to give more deference to local church authorities. Pope Francis’s global synod – which began in Read more