Following papal reforms, Vatican departments are ready to help local bishops
Vatican City RNS In another step aimed at flipping the Catholic Church’s traditional top-down hierarchy, the Vatican has invited bishops facing immigrant crises in their dioceses to call directly on the church department in Rome charged with dealing with immigration issues – a section Pope Francis heads up personally. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human […]
Essay: Catholics’ reports on the state of the church are in. Here’s what they have to say
In an article published on Religion News Service, PHYLLIS ZAGANO, senior research associate-in-residence and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University in the US, looks at what Pope Francis’ effort to “take the pulse” of the Catholic Church has found…
Pope names women to bishops advisory committee for first time
Reuters Pope Francis has named three women, two nuns and a lay woman, to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world’s bishops, the Vatican said on Wednesday. He had disclosed the decision in an exclusive interview with Reuters earlier this month, explaining he wanted to give women more senior and influential […]
Pope to give women a say in appointment of bishops
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis said he wants to give women more top-level positions in the Holy See and disclosed that for the first time he would name women to a previously all-male Vatican committee that helps him select the world’s bishops. The role of women in the Vatican hierarchy was one of the many church […]
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church elects second woman and African bishops
United StatesRNS The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church has elected its second woman bishop and received its first episcopal address from a woman during its quadrennial General Conference. “I think when you elect the first you have to be really careful that they just don’t become a token and so I was really excited,” said Bishop […]
Sri Lankans protest near President’s residence; Catholic bishops call for unity
Colombo, Sri Lanka AP Sri Lanka police fired tear gas and a water canon to disperse several hundred people protesting Thursday near the private residence of the country’s President, demanding his resignation as the Indian Ocean island nation struggles with its worst economic crisis. Protestors demonstrated, shouting slogans condemning the long power cuts and shortages […]
Essay: What is the Synod of Bishops? A Catholic priest and theologian explains
WILLIAM CLARK, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross in the US, explains in an article first published on The Conversation…
Europe court rejects case seeking to blame Vatican for abuse
Rome, ItalyAP A European court agreed Tuesday that the Vatican couldn’t be sued in a local court for sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests, affirming that it enjoys sovereign immunity and that the misconduct of priests and their superiors can’t be attributed to the Holy See. The European Court of Human Rights dismissed a case […]
Pope opens two-year consultation on Catholic Church future; meets freed nun
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Sunday launched a two-year worldwide consultative process that could change the way the Roman Catholic Church makes decisions and leave its mark long after his pontificate is over. Proponents see the initiative called “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission” as an opportunity to change the church’s power dynamics […]
Nicaragua’s President Ortega calls bishops “terrorists”
Managua, Nicaragua AP Nicaragua’s increasingly isolated President Daniel Ortega called Roman Catholic bishops “terrorists” Monday and said many countries would have arrested them. In this 5th September, 2018, file photo, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, lead a rally in Managua, Nicaragua. PICTURE: AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga/File photo. Ortega claims widespread […]