Pope Francis’s praise for Humanae Vitae is key to understanding his dual emphases on clear doctrine and pastoral mercy, a senior Vatican observer says. Writing in L’Espresso, Sandro Magister noted there is growing pressure for a change in Church teaching on Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. “There was similarly massive pressure for change in Read more
Pope Francis has appointed a commission to fix a prolonged conflict between the Archbishop of Lima and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Since 2007, the university in Lima has been battling its chancellor, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriano, who is Lima’s archbishop. At issue is who has the right to appoint the rector, supervision of Read more
New Zealand Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae will be visiting Pope Francis at the Vatican by the middle of May. While the official announcement is yet to be made,this could be the very first state visit made by a New Zealand governor general to the Pope.The governor general’s office said they had “consulted historian Gavin Read more
The remarkable thing about Francis is not that he’s fundamentally changing the theology of the Church, nor that he’s carving out a space for the pope as a heavyweight in the economics public sphere. It’s that he’s consistently able to match the themes that animate his spirituality and faith with issues that people around the Read more
Pope Francis has put out a tweet against inequality which has conservative economic commentators fuming. On April 28, Pope Francis posted to his Twitter feed: “Iniquitas radix malorum.” In English this translates to “Inequality is the root of social evil”. The papal tweet came only days after French economist Thomas Picketty’s bestseller “Capital in the Read more
The Vatican has removed further sanctions it could have imposed on Irish Marist priest, Fr Sean Fagan, who was silenced in 2008. Society of Mary Superior General Fr John Hannan told CathNews that he is pleased the threat of further sanctions, stipulated in 2010, have been removed and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Read more
A Catholic school community in Leeds in the United Kingdom is in mourning after a teacher was stabbed and killed in class. Ann Maguire, who taught Spanish and Religious Education at Corpus Christi College, was repeatedly stabbed in front of a class of 30 pupils. A 15-year-old male has been charged with murder after being Read more
Former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has defended himself against accusations he is living in a luxury apartment in the Vatican. On April 20, Italian daily La Repubblica reported that the cardinal was moving into a lavish 6500 square foot apartment in the Vatican’s San Carlo Palace. This was while Pope Francis was Read more
[Sunday]’s canonisation of Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II drew 800,000 people to Rome. I spoke with a small fraction of the massive crowd that filled the streets near the Vatican, but every one of them agreed: Two popes, two saints, two more reasons to be happy. Much of the commentariat – and Read more
Pope Francis has praised Sts John XXIII and John Paul II as men who modernised the Catholic Church in fidelity to its ancient traditions. The Pope said this during his homily at a canonisation Mass at St Peter’s Square on April 27 before an estimated 500,000 people. A few minutes earlier, he had formally declared Read more