Pope Francis has ordered an inquiry into an Italian bishop after scandalous behaviour by some of the priests in his diocese. Albenga-Imperia diocese in northern Italy has been seen as hosting a number of so-called “playboy priests”, who frequently broke the law. An apostolic visitor will assess the capability of Bishop Mario Oliveri, 70, who Read more
Pope Francis has warned bishops not to accept priests just because there is a shortage of them in a diocese. In an address to the Congregation for Clergy on October 3, Pope Francis asked bishops to think of the good of the people of God and to study the itinerary of vocations carefully. Vocations are Read more
Priests in England and Wales have been told to put up with noisy children at Mass, as Church leaders encourage more families to go to church on Sundays. Bishop Kieran Conroy, who chairs the England and Wales bishops’ evangelisation committee, said he “strongly discouraged” priests from intervening to prevent children talking during Mass. Bishop Conry, the Read more
The Vatican’s congregation for worship has ruled that priests are not to leave the altar to make the Sign of Peace with the faithful at Mass. In a recent circular, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments listed several “abuses” of the Sign of Peace that are to be stopped. These Read more
Up to one in twelve Catholic priests in England and Wales are former Church of England clergy, recent research shows. A study reported by The Tablet shows there are 389 Catholic priests who were once Anglican priests, with 87 being in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. It is estimated that there are 3000 Read more
The practice of lay people giving the homily at Mass is coming to an end in a United States diocese, where it had been happening for 40 years. Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester diocese in New York state is drafting guidelines to clarify that homilies at Mass are reserved for the ordained. Bishop Matano said he is trying Read more
Six dioceses in Normandy, France, are offering worshippers the opportunity to “adopt a priest”. A website and short video which is inspired by popular French dating website, Adopt a Guy says priests of all ages are available for adoption, from trainee priests to older pastors can be adopted Donations will help cover the costs of Read more
On the day that the papal nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown, told the US-based Catholic News Service that he saw “that Irish Catholicism had entered a new springtime,” representatives of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) were trying to convince a group of Irish bishops that the Irish Catholic Church was facing, among other Read more
A group of 26 Italian women – all claiming to be in affairs with priests – have written to Pope Francis pleading with him to end the celibacy requirement. The women said that there were many more like them who were “living in silence”. “We love these men, they love us, and in most cases, Read more
Let us talk about Catholic priests. Consider especially those who are now in their 60s, after a life of service to their church. They were seminarians in the heady days of Vatican II when everything seemed possible. They managed to survive the aftermath of was Humanae Vitae and continued to preach and counsel, to lead the sacred Read more