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
A newly appointed bishop in England says he believes Pope Francis was right to “rattle the cage” of bishops. Bishop-elect John Arnold of Salford said he believes the Pope has made some bishops rethink their priorities. A former barrister who was auxiliary bishop in Westminster, Bishop Arnold has pledged to follow the Pope’s exhortation to Read more
In the mid 1990s my husband and I lived together before we were married. In the interest of family peace we kept our living arrangement secret from my devoutly Catholic grandparents who would not have approved. I wonder what my grandparents, who died a few years ago, would have thought about Pope Francis’ decision last Read more
The 90-year-old Italian atheist who twice interviewed Pope Francis has revealed that he asked the pontiff to bless his family. Eugenio Scalfari, one of Italy’s most prominent atheist intellectuals and for 20 years the editor of the newspaper La Repubblica, said the Pope had visited his family and blessed them following his request. Speaking to Read more
Pope Francis has told members of the Vatican’s security force to intervene with people they find gossiping and backstabbing. On September 27, the Pope celebrated Mass for the Vatican’s security personnel. In addition to the more colourful Swiss Guard, the Vatican’s other security body is its own police force, the gendarme corps. The corps of Read more
The reform of the Roman Curia is not a revolution, says one of the senior cardinals advising Pope Francis. Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, who co-ordinates the council of nine cardinals advising the Pope, said reform of the curia is a normal response to changing times. The current process may feel different because Pope Francis Read more
The Pope has shown he has a sense of humour as well as a caring side. Last year he donned a red nose at the wedding of members of a charity that uses clowns to cheer up children. Pope Francis appeared at the Vatican to congratulate the newlyweds from the Rainbow Association Marco Iagulli Onlus Read more
Pope Francis has sacked a Paraguayan bishop affiliated to Opus Dei in order to try to mend divisions in the Church in that nation. On September 25, Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano of Ciudad del Este diocese was removed to preserve the “unity of both the bishops and of the faithful”, according to a Vatican Read more
The Catholic Church has to turn the image of a punitive, judgemental God head over heels, the Archbishop of Dublin says. Speaking at a Mass in Dublin on the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said many in his generation grew up in a religion where this punitive image prevailed. “Mercy was Read more
The Extraordinary Synod for the Family that will be held in Rome next month has attracted more attention than any synod since their introduction following Vatican II. The media are focused on the possibility that changes may be made in such matters as birth control and reception of the Eucharist by Catholics who have divorced Read more