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Under a new landmark deal with the Vatican, Beijing will recognise Pope Francis as the head of China’s Catholics. In return, the Vatican will recognise excommunicated Chinese bishops. The deal will end a long struggle between Beijing’s Communist rulers and the pope over who chooses the leaders of Catholicism in China. “It is a baby Read more
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When Pope Francis comes to Ireland in two weeks’ time it will be 39 years since the last visit by a head of the Catholic Church. Since then the status of the church in Ireland has declined dramatically. Those identifying as Catholic are down by 20 per cent, according to the last census. Mass attendance Read more
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Catholics in a south Indian diocese want their bishop removed for allegedly misappropriating diocesan funds to lead a luxurious life with his wife and son. Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapah, however, has denied the charges as baseless and aimed at tarnishing his image. Aggrieved Catholics have filed a criminal complaint in a trial court in Read more
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A cabinet minister in Britain’s Conservative Party wants Catholic Church leaders to change Catholic teaching on birth control. Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, met with Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, and the head of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Read more
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The US Association of Consecrated Virgins has said it is “deeply disappointed” at new Vatican rules. These rules appear to say consecrated virgins need not be virgins. Section 88 states: “Thus to have kept her body in perfect continence or to have practiced the virtue of chastity in an exemplary way, while of great importance Read more
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Vatican guidelines are being drafted to help dioceses find appropriate ways to decommission unneeded churches. The Vatican is keen to ensure the churches don’t end up as “discos, gymnasiums or gelato shops”. The Vatican’s culture ministry, Rome’s Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University and the Italian bishops’ conference, will host an international conference on managing the sale Read more
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The Rite of Consecrated Virginity has been given published instructions by the Vatican, 50 years after Pope Paul VI revived the ancient Order of Virgins. The instructions (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago) include rules concerning consecrated virgins’ state of life, the rite’s discipline and the responsibilities of diocesan bishops toward the vocation of consecrated virgins. The instructions Read more
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been given an honorary title by Pope Francis. Macron visited the Vatican to accept an inherited title of the “First and Only Honorary Canon” of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. St John Lateran is the pope’s cathedral in his capacity as bishop of Rome. Under a tradition that began Read more
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The Vatican’s working document for October’s Synod of Bishops on “Young people, the faith and vocational discernment” has been published. The document is divided into three sections: recognising; interpreting; and choosing with regard to vocation in life. Young Catholics “want an authentic church”, the document says. “With this, we would like to express, particularly to Read more
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A stolen letter from Christopher Columbus has been returned to the Vatican. The letter, worth US 1.2 million, was stolen and a forgery put in its place. “We do not know exactly when the substitution took place. We will probably never know who the forger was,” Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues says. Bruges is the Vatican’s chief Read more
