Women have legitimate claims to seek more equality in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis says. The Church has to acknowledge a history of male domination and sexual abuse of women and children and it must repair its reputation among young people or risk becoming “a museum”, he says. Francis made these comments in the 50-page Read more
Pope Francis says it’s possible French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin “is not innocent.” His comment was made in response to questions from French media about the Cardinal of Lyon during an in-flight press conference after his visit to Morocco last weekend. Last month Barbarin was found guilty on one count of failure to report a charge Read more
At about the same time as Pope Francis was defending migration during his visit to Morocco, Cardinal Robert Sarah was saying promoting migration is a misinterpretation of Gospels. Where Francis said politicians who build walls to keep migrants out would become prisoners of those barriers, Sarah said priests and bishops who defend migration are “bewitched” Read more
Pope Francis appointed on Saturday a French Vatican official to oversee the care of religious communities of a traditional nature, and to assist with the regularization of the Society of St. Pius X. Msgr. Patrick Descourtieux becomes head of the section within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith dealing with such communities. He Read more
Pope Francis has made it compulsory in law within the Vatican and in Vatican diplomatic missions worldwide to report child sex abuse. Francis, who is both the Vatican head of state and the head of the Church new law, wants the new law to be a model for the church globally. The legal changes reflect Read more
Pope Francis’s meetings in Morocco have underlined the importance of religious liberty and its connection to the dignity and rights owed to every person, regardless of their religion. On Saturday, the first day of a two-day trip, he told Morocco’s Catholic community they should avoid attempting to convert Muslims. Instead, he suggested they should seek Read more
Why do Catholics kiss the pope’s ring? And why doesn’t he want them to? Protocols evolve and changes can be confusing, especially when most people only meet a reigning monarch (or pope) once in their lives. As we have seen in the past few days, old habits die hard, even when the pope is trying Read more
The founder and all-female editorial board of the Vatican’s women’s magazine Women Church World have resigned after what they say was a Vatican campaign to discredit them and put them “under the direct control of men.” In the final editorial and open letter to Pope Francis, released to news media ahead of the magazine’s 1 Read more
A change in canon law will make it easier for a religious order to dismiss a member who leaves the community without permission, stays away and does not communicate with his or her superior. Pope Francis amended the Code of Canon Law in a document entitled “Communis Vita” (Community Life). The amendment now includes an Read more
Catholic women from Münster in Germany are calling for women to go on strike. “We women want to see genuine change in our Church. We want to contribute and have our say. We want women and men, on equal footing, to follow their calling in harmony and move forward in the same direction: that of Read more