When I first started reporting for my story “Resurrection,” I was hoping to understand what seemed like a straightforward question: Who wants to become a priest in 2012? After all, a man who decides to become a priest is choosing a profession at a time when its public reputation has never been lower. Fifty years Read more
A lonely man whose heart ached for a wife and a home of his own while remaining true to his calling is the tragic portrait which Fr Brian D’Arcy reveals of himself in a powerful new documentary. The controversial Catholic cleric has laid bare his soul in what is a deeply personal and at times Read more
Carlos Ballve — known as “Litus” to his friends — plays defence on the Spanish field hockey team competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games. But as soon as the Games end, the Spanish Olympian will head to a Belgium seminary to begin the process of becoming a priest. According to the Spanish daily El Pais, Read more
Since my ordination to the priesthood 12 years ago, the millstone of sexual abuse revelations within the Catholic Church has weighed heavily. Indeed, such is the extent of the crisis, that in some circles priest and paedophile have become interchangeable words. It is as if we have moved from an unhealthy ‘A priest would never do that’ to an Read more
Two Australian dioceses have jointly commissioned an independent inquiry by former Federal Court judge Antony Whitlam, QC, into the way they handled a priest who admitted abusing children. The inquiry is in response to widespread media reports about the activities of a so-called Father F — which have also prompted calls for a royal commission Read more
The English diocese of Portsmouth is contemplating an appeal to Britain’s Supreme Court following a judgement that it can be held vicariously liable for alleged wrongdoings of a priest. The diocese says the decision, by two out of three judges in the Court of Appeal, has “far-reaching implications” for faith and other voluntary organisations. The Read more
A caution against “excessive” use of concelebration — the practice of several priests participating together in the celebration of Mass — has been sounded by the head of the highest judicial body in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, said the practice could result in the Read more
A New York-based Filipino priest named in a $25-million lawsuit filed by an alleged female lover in 2008 took his own life in April during a visit to the Philippines, reports ucanews. Fr Elvis Elano (pictures with Judith Rodrigues-Lytwyn) reportedly found it too much to bear after his family and community “shunned” and “despised” him over an Read more
Archbishop John Dew discusses meeting Pope Benedict XVI, studying horticulture and whether he wished he had a family. You grew up in Waipukurau. Was it a farm upbringing? My Father had a transport company business, but I spent a lot of time on farms. I had cousins who lived on farms and would visit them during Read more
In 2001 there were only 26 seminarians in England and Wales. Things are now changing. With more than 200 seminarians, the England and Wales Bishops’ Conference has confirmed the number of men training for the priesthood in England and Wales is at its highest level for nearly twenty years. This is the first time seminaries Read more