Vatican City: Pope Francis addressed the Vatican financial scandals in a sit-down radio interview that aired Wednesday, saying he hoped that Cardinal Angelo Becciu is innocent of the charges against him. “I hope with all my heart that he is innocent. Besides, he was a collaborator of mine and helpedContinue Reading
Dublin: Ireland’s housing minister has contacted the Archbishop of Armagh suggesting that the Catholic Church could better organize property sales to address a major housing shortfall, with tens of thousands of new homes needing to be built. Darragh O’Brien, Ireland’s Minister for Housing, has sent a letter to Archbishop EamonContinue Reading
Warsaw: A Catholic layman will represent the Church in Poland at the official opening of the synodal process leading to the 2023 synod of bishops meeting in Rome. Aleksander Bańka, a professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice, southern Poland, was appointed as a delegate of the Church inContinue Reading
Rome: Five members of the Missionaries of Charity and 14 disabled children from an orphanage in Afghanistan arrived August 25 at Rome’s international airport. A Catholic priest and the sisters arrived on one of two evacuation flights from Kabul that landed in Rome carrying a total of 277 people. FatherContinue Reading
Bonn, Germany: More than 220,000 people left Catholic Church in Germany in 2020, according to official figures released on July 14 . The statistics issued by the German bishops’ conference on July 14 showed that 221,390 people exited the Catholic Church last year. The figure was almost 19% lower thanContinue Reading
By Frank Krishner Patna: An online condolence meeting for Jesuit human rights defender Father Stan Swamy was challenged to stop wailing and get involved in people’s struggles. “These meetings allow us to weep, and people join in the wailing without connecting Stan’s reality, his faith, or his conviction. In tribalContinue Reading
Vatican City: Pope Francis and Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi discussed the importance of protecting the Christian presence in the Middle East during a meeting at the Vatican on July 1. According to a Vatican press release, the roughly 30-minute private meeting included conversation about Pope Francis’ visit to IraqContinue Reading
Vatican City: Pope Francis on June 22 appointed 12 new members of the Vatican’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark. American Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Bishop Mark Bartchak of the DioceseContinue Reading
Brussels, Belgium: For the first time in 200 years, beer is being brewed at a historic Catholic abbey in Belgium. The Grimbergen Abbey Brewery opened on May 27 at Grimbergen Abbey near the Belgian capital, Brussels. The Norbertine monastery, founded in 1128, was forced to abandon beer-making when the abbeyContinue Reading
Vatican City: Pope Francis on May 31 described basketball as “a sport that lifts you up to the heavens.” He made the remark during a May 31 audience with members of the Italian Basketball Federation, basketball’s governing body in Italy, which is celebrating its centenary. He said: “I would likeContinue Reading
