Essay: Francis now has the cardinals he needs for the next conclave. Is it enough?
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says the College of Cardinals has never been so diverse – or unpredictable…
Roma pilgrims seek just “one glimpse” of Pope Francis at Hungary Mass
Budapest, HungaryReuters When Pope Francis visited Hungary two years ago, Roma pilgrim Csaba Kovesi, accompanied by a cross blessed by Francis and Pope John Paul II, drove around the country calling on people to travel to Budapest to see him. Now Kovesi is on a repeat mission, driving a pick-up resembling a “popemobile” with the […]
Pope Francis calls “insinuations” against John Paul II unfounded
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis on Sunday rejected as offensive and unfounded what he called insinuations by the brother of a Vatican schoolgirl who went missing 40 years ago about one of his predecessors as pontiff, Saint John Paul II. Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican usher, failed to return home on 22nd June, […]
John Paul abuse claims trigger angry reactions in Poland
Warsaw, PolandAP Fallout from a TV report alleging that St John Paul II covered up clergy sex abuse cases escalated Thursday, with Poland’s Catholic Church and lawmakers defending him as one of the greatest Poles ever and the government “inviting” the US ambassador for talks. A report this week on TVN24, which is owned by […]
Polish TV report: John Paul II knew of abuse as archbishop
Warsaw, Poland AP St John Paul II knew about sexual abuse of children by priests under his authority and sought to conceal it when he was an archbishop in his native Poland, a television news report has alleged. In a story that aired late Monday, Polish channel TVN24 named three priests whom the future pope then […]
The Explainer: Calls for Pope Benedict’s sainthood make canonising popes seem like the norm – but it’s a long and politically fraught process
In an article first published on The Conversation, JOANNE M PIERCE, of the College of the Holy Cross, looks at the process of canonisation in the Catholic Church – particularly as it relates to past popes…
At Benedict’s summer home, a town mourns its beloved visitor
Castel Gandolfo, Italy AP The shopkeeper named her daughter after him. The parish priest wears his old vestments. The former mayor dedicated a plaque to him on City Hall, and residents up and down this picturesque hilltop town reminisce about hearing him play the piano behind the palace walls on cool summer evenings. Pope Emeritus […]
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican power who dismissed sexual abuse, dies
Vatican CityReuters Cardinal Angelo Sodano, a controversial Vatican power broker for more than a quarter of a century who was accused of covering up one of the Catholic Church’s most notorious sex abusers, has died at the age of 94. Sodano, who had been ill for some time and died on Friday night, was secretary […]
Books: Imago Dei – a pope’s “extraordinary insight” into God-given human sexuality
MATTHEW SMEAL reads an adaption of the former pope and Catholic saint, John Paul II’s, views on human sexuality…
Essay: Pope Francis apologised for the harm done to First Nations peoples, but what does a Pope’s apology mean?
In the wake of Pope Francis’ 1st April apology to First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegations from Canada, Catholic theologian ANNIE SELAK – in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the significance of papal apologies…