Poland’s Catholic Church has called for a fitting tribute to hundreds of its priests who died in the Nazi concentration camp of Dachau. Commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Dachau, near Munich, in 1945 run from April 30 to May 3. A spokesman for the Polish bishops, Msgr Józef Kloch, said Dachau Read more
A Bishop in the Philippines told his priest to stop abusing the kindness of people by subjecting them to boring, unorganised, unprepared, mumbled homilies. “We have seen many abuses among the clergy – alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, gambling abuse, money abuse, travelling abuse, vacation abuse. Today, I invite you to turn your hearts Read more
Pope Francis has told several newly ordained priests never to refuse Baptism to anyone who asks for it. Speaking after presiding at an ordination Mass at St Peter’s Basilica on April 26, the Pope also warned the newly ordained against being vain priests. “A priest is ugly who lives for his own pleasure,” Pope Francis Read more
Ireland’s Catholic bishops have warned that the Church may no longer perform the civil aspects of weddings if same-sex marriage is legalised. Ireland is to have a referendum on legal same-sex marriage next month. If the bishops’ warning comes to pass, it would mean couples married in the Catholic Church in Ireland would have to Read more
The number of potential ordinands in the United States this year is up by 25 per cent from 2014. According to US Conference of Catholic Bishops figures, there are 595 men in the “class of 2015”, up from 477 in 2014 and 497 in 2013. The 2015 class of men to be ordained to the Read more
Two separate, highly embarrassing Church scandals have generated lurid coverage in the Italian press. A north Italian priest has been removed from office after allegations he looked for gay lovers on the Internet and had been involved in gay orgies. The priest admitted online to sexual relationships with other religious figures – as well as Read more
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has told priests not to regard this year’s synod on the family as a “battle”. Speaking at a Chrism Mass at Westminster Cathedral during Holy Week, Cardinal Nichols warned such hostilities can cause “collateral damage”. His comments came a week after he rebuked the 461 priests in England and Wales Read more
Nearly 500 priests in England and Wales have signed a letter calling on the synod on the family to uphold the Church’s “unchanging” moral teaching. The letter also calls on the synod, to be held in October, to resist any moves to allow Communion for the divorced and remarried. A draft text of the letter Read more
Priests in England and Wales are being urged to sign a letter calling on the family synod to resist any move to allow Communion for the civilly remarried. The letter also calls on the synod to proclaim the Church’s “unchanging” moral teaching. The initiative comes from a group of dozen priests, dubbed by The Tablet Read more
During his off-hours William Dailey mixes cocktail behind a bar. In his day job, he is a priest and lawyer who is currently the Thomas More Fellow at Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics & Culture. He says a bar offers a similar sense of community as a church. “A bar with a good community of Read more