The opulent Roman salon of a wealthy German princess is the location for regular gatherings of a group of ultra-conservative Catholics — including Steve Bannon, former White House strategist once favoured by President Donald Trump — where they plot their campaign to undermine the Papacy of Francis. She is Princess Gloria of Thurn and Taxis, Read more
Many adjectives describe Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who died last week: father, brother, cardinal of Cuban youth, voice of Cuba’s poor, Cuban bridge to the US, accomplished pianist. He “was an important, and at the same time, controversial man of the church, who played a critical role in gaining ‘more spaces’ so that the Catholic Church Read more
We are living in a unique moment in church history with an ex-pope, properly credited for having the courage to resign when the problems he faced became overwhelming, living within the Vatican walls. The resignation is best interpreted as Benedict XVI’s act of generosity toward the church. The graciousness Francis has displayed toward his predecessor Read more
On the evening of April 10, six weeks after the conclusion of the Vatican’s summit on the sex-abuse crisis, the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, made known his thoughts on the genesis of that crisis in a five-thousand-plus-word essay sent to a periodical for Bavarian priests, quickly translated into English, and then diffused online by Catholic Read more
The Vatican admits an image of a letter it sent the media last week did not include the full copy. In the media release, only part of a five-paragraph letter from Emeritus Pope Benedict was visible. The bottom two lines of the first page and all but Benedict’s signature on the second page were obscured. Read more
Jacopo Cardillo, an Italian sculptor of international standing, whose working name is Jago, has portrayed Benedict XVI shirtless instead of dressed in the usual papal regalia. Ever since the technically remarkable sculpture has been the object of both criticism and praise. Read more
Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation changed the institution of the papacy forever, says Italian journalist and scholar Fabrizio Grasso. In his opinion “it’s not hard to imagine a possible near future with more than one emeritus pope and, consequentially, an exclusive papal club, which could be no other than a proto-parliament of the Vatican State.” Read Read more
A New Zealand-born novelist, filmmaker and playwright Anthony McCartin has written a play examining the unusual situation in which there are two living Popes. In a soon-to-be-made Netflix movie version of the play, Jonathan Pryce, who played the role of the High Sparrow in season 6 of The Game of Thrones, will play the part Read more
Although Crux’s John Allen likes to pretend otherwise, Roman Catholicism is now clearly divided between the Party of Francis and the Party of Benedict. Not since the days of the Jesuits and the Jansenists has the Catholic elite — clerical and lay intellectual — been at daggers drawn as it is now. Yesterday, the New York Times nicely encapsulated the partisan Read more
Facing reality about issues of child abuse is a crucial part of child protection, says Hans Zollner S.J. Father Zollner is both President of the Centre for Child Protection of the Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He says the detailed report about allegations of sexual Read more