Pope Francis has created a new commission to hear appeals of priests and bishops accused of what the Church considers grave crimes. These crimes include sexual abuse of minors, wrongful use of the sacrament of penance, heresy, apostasy and the attempted ordination of women. An edict approved by Francis establishes a new seven-member “college” inside Read more
Pope Francis has received Ireland’s new ambassador to the Holy See, ending a three year hiatus in which the ambassador was based in Dublin. In 2011, the Irish government closed its Vatican embassy after Prime Minister Enda Kenny accused the Holy See of deliberately thwarting a probe into sex abuse allegations. The Vatican had strongly Read more
Pope Francis does not fit into the worn out categories of conservative or liberal, says the cardinal who has been dubbed “the Pope’s theologian”. In a lecture in Washington, D.C. last week, Cardinal Walter Kasper said Francis “cannot be categorised, much less appropriated, by any specific [theological] school”. “He’s not an academic theologian in the Read more
Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Raymond Burke as Patron of the Order of Malta, in a move which leaves the US prelate out of the Roman Curia. Cardinal Burke, 66, was formerly the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest court. His role in the Order of Malta is largely a ceremonial one, without Read more
Pope Francis is to open a Vatican-sponsored interreligious conference dedicated to traditional marriage. The gathering, on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman”, will take place from November 17-19. It will feature more than 30 speakers, representing 23 countries. Representatives from various Christian churches and Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism and Sikhism will attend. The Read more
Pope Francis has criticised bishops who strut around “like a peacock” and live only for their “vanity”. In a general audience on Wednesday, the Pope spoke about the role of bishops and collegiality. He departed from his script to say: “The bishop is not an honorary role, it is a service.” “A worldly mentality speaks Read more
I’ve got a soft spot for the Pope. I don’t know why; I’m about as religious as a satsuma. But given that Mum’s an Anglican preacher, my Dad’s an atheist, my brother a Catholic, and my Aunt and Uncle devout Jews, I’ve probably picked up second-hand religious interest somewhere. Anyway, I like him. He seems Read more
Pope Francis has sent a special message of condolence to the family of former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, who died last month. The letter was read at a memorial Mass in Rome to honour the former Labor leader. In the message, it was noted that the Pope personally prayed for Mr Whitlam after hearing Read more
Pope Francis has said that caring about the world’s poor does not make him a communist. The Pope called on participants at the World Meeting of Popular Movements last week in Rome to attack the structural causes of poverty and to defend workers’ rights. In a six-page speech, Pope Francis lamented that “land, housing and Read more
The US cardinal dubbed the face of opposition to the Pope’s reformist agenda has likened the Church to “a ship without a rudder”. In an interview with Spanish Catholic weekly Vida Nueva, Cardinal Raymond Burke said he was not speaking against Pope Francis personally. Rather, he said he was raising concerns about the Pope’s leadership. Read more