Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has launched a stinging attack on Cardinal George Pell’s views on climate change. In a lecture, Mr Rudd said the cardinal needed an “ecological conversion”. This was a phrase used by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’. Mr Rudd said the Cardinal’s view that the Church should stay out of Read more
Pope Francis has pleaded with priests to give short, clear homilies. The Pope made this plea at the ordination of a Rome pastor as an auxiliary bishop. Ordaining Bishop Angelo De Donatis in Rome on Tuesday, Pope Francis reminded the new bishop of something he had told him earlier. “Let your words be simple so that Read more
Pope Francis has stumbled in public twice in three days. On Saturday, the Pope tripped up on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica, stopping his fall with outstretched arms. Two aides helped him back to his feet. On Monday, the Pontiff faltered on his way up the steps during a service at the Basilica of Read more
A prelate who has previously called for a relaxation of mandatory celibacy for priests has been appointed as the de facto head of the Catholic Church in Belgium. Pope Francis has named Archbishop Jozef de Kesel as the new Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Currently the Bishop of Bruges, Archbishop-elect De Kesel is seen as a moderate Read more
Pope Francis is the fourth most powerful person in the world, according to Forbes magazine. The Pope was ranked behind Russian president Vladimir Putin, German chancellor Angela Merkel and US president Barack Obama in Forbes’s 2015 list. The Pontiff was ranked ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and US Federal Reserve Read more
Despite opposition from some quarters and fresh revelations of Vatican scandal, Pope Francis is at peace with his reformist course, a senior advisor says. Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said that anyone trying to do good “will have opposition”. “The books of the Bible said, especially the Book of Wisdom, ‘If you want to follow Read more
The Vatican has dismissed as “in no way reliable” an interview which quotes Pope Francis saying “all divorced who ask will be admitted” to Communion. Veteran journalist Eugenio Scalfari wrote in La Repubblica that the Pope made the comment during a phone interview. According to a translation by traditionalist blog Rorate Caeli, Pope Francis said: “The Read more
In the last chapter of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis begins by acknowledging that “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.” The path to change comes through education and spirituality. “We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a Read more
An Argentine bishop whose appointment Pope Francis opposed before he became Roman Pontiff has resigned after allegations of mismanaging funds. Bishop Oscar Sarlinga of Zarate-Campana diocese announced his resignation on Sunday. This came after an administrative takeover of his diocese, ordered by Francis in January 2014. The “fraternal mission” was led by the Pontiff’s successor Read more
I was visiting Canberra’s splendid Arboretum the other day and I ran into an historian who is not one of us. He greeted me: “That new pope of yours is doing quite well, isn’t he? I don’t know that he will show us the road to paradise but he has definitely opened a few doors Read more