One of Ireland’s best known priests has likened the censure he received from the Vatican to the abuse he suffered as a child and as a seminarian. In an interview for Irish TV, Fr Brian D’Arcy, CP, said it took him years to get over the sexual abuse inflicted upon him. “One never ever gets Read more
A suspect who allegedly received orders from ISIS to attack the Vatican and Israel’s embassy in Rome is among several extremists arrested in Italy. The arrests were made in Lombardy and Piedmont late last month. They came as the result of a joint operation co-ordinated by Milan’s district attorney and the Italian anti-terror agency. Authorities Read more
An order of nuns says a court ruling allowing singer Katy Perry to buy a Los Angeles convent was based on a mistranslated Vatican decree. The nuns, from the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary order, argued that Perry’s lawyers misled a judge using the document, which had been incorrectly translated from Latin. The Read more
An inquiry ordered by the Vatican into abuse by the founder of a 20,000-member Catholic sodality is expected to report soon. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life ordered an inquiry concerning the “Sodalitium of Christian Life” from Peru. The movement’s superior general has admitted that allegations against its founder, Read more
US presidential contender Bernie Sanders briefly met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. The five-minute meeting took place in the foyer at the Pope’s residence at the Vatican. Pope Francis later referred to the meeting as “a matter of politeness”. The Pope added “ . . . and if anybody thinks that greeting somebody Read more
Four Irish prelates are to meet a priests’ group to discuss calls for restoration to full ministry of priests disciplined by the Vatican. This is one of the topics likely to be on the agenda of a proposed meeting between the prelates and representatives of the Association of Catholic Priests. Other matters to be discussed Read more
Participants in a Vatican conference are hoping to see just war theory dislodged as a leading framework for Catholic response to violence. Eighty experts engaged in global non-violent struggles have gathered this week to develop a new moral framework that rejects ethical justifications for war. They also hope Pope Francis’s next excyclical will be on Read more
A Democratic contender for the US presidency, Bernie Sanders, is going to the Vatican to speak in a conference on economics. But how this came about has become a point of contention. While the US senator said he accepted a Vatican invitation, one of the conference’s organisers said that his campaign had lobbied for his Read more
It’s an unconventional rendering of Jesus that was rejected years ago by top officials with two major Catholic cathedrals, yet it now sits in one of the world’s holiest sites. Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz was thrilled to receive an email a few days ago telling him his bronze sculpture, Homeless Jesus, has been installed inside Read more
During Holy Week and in the Easter season, the Vatican will take part in several initiatives highlighting the importance of ecology and the care for creation. The Governorate of Vatican City State announced March 18 that the thousands of floral arrangements for the Easter morning Mass and the pope’s solemn blessing “urbi et orbi” (to Read more