In more than seven years as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has issued numerous new laws and guidelines for handling accusations of clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up by church officials.
International News
Analysis: A Reader’s Guide to McCarrick Report: Beware of Bad Guys, Smoking Guns
It’s taken far too long to get here, with agonizing delays, chaos, confusion, and reversals of fortune along the way, not to mention accusations of fraud and cover-up. Even now that we have a final result, heated arguments over its meaning and legitimacy probably are only beginning. That’s not a summary of the 2020 U.S. election, though it easily could be. The reference instead is to the Vatican’s release today of its long-awaited report on ex-cardinal and ex-priest Theodore McCarrick, promised more than two years ago and finally at hand.
McCarrick Report Summary Cites Lack of Serious Investigations of Rumors
Although dogged for years by rumors of sexual impropriety, Theodore E. McCarrick was able to rise up the Catholic hierarchical structure based on personal contacts, protestations of his innocence and a lack of church officials reporting and investigating accusations, according to the Vatican summary of its report on the matter.
Iraqi Priest Doubles Down on Christianity’s Survival in the Middle East
Ever since the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), there’s been rising alarm regarding the future for Christians in the Middle East. A Catholic priest who recently returned to his village in northern Iraq after six years in Rome described what he found as “shocking,” but doubled down on the need for Christians to survive.
Prepare for Heaven With Faith and Good Works, Pope Says
People sometimes forget life’s ultimate purpose is to prepare for the kingdom of heaven, Pope Francis said.
Analysis: Could Pope Francis, Biden Find Each Other Like John Paul II and Reagan?
As the dust begins to settle from the tumultuous 2020 presidential election in America, it’s possible that if Biden finally prevails, outside his campaign team no group will emerge as bigger fans of the mail-in ballot than Pope Francis and his allies in the Vatican.
Kids Helping Kids: One Boy’s 1,740-Mile Journey Raises Money for Refugees
Months ago, 11-year-old Romeo Cox in Italy secretly hatched a plan to somehow visit his grandmother Rosemary in England. Romeo and his granny hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half when the coronavirus pandemic struck. So, he repeatedly asked his parents if he could walk to see her because he missed her.
Pakistani Christian Association Protests Kidnapping of Teenage Girl
The plight of Arzoo Raja, a 13-year-old kidnap victim in Pakistan, is being felt here in the U.S., according to protesters who staged a demonstration on Nov. 2 to demand her immediate release.
Nigeria’s Government Blamed for Not Preventing ‘Herdsmen’ Violence
Ongoing violence in Nigeria pits Muslim cattle herders and Christian farmers in a bloody struggle for agricultural land at Nigeria’s center, said Father Cosmas Nzeabalu and Sister Elizabeth Ogbu, both assigned to the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Mexico’s ‘Bishop of the Poor’ Dies of COVID-19 Complications
Retired Bishop Arturo Lona Reyes of Tehuantepec — known as “bishop of the poor” and famed for promoting an indigenous church — died Oct. 31. He was one day shy of his 95th birthday and had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in October.