Pope Francis spent 90 minutes meeting privately with eight survivors of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy or in Catholic-run institutions.
International News
Families Called to Share Joy, Love, Life
In a stadium of Catholic families from around the world, Pope Francis told the laypeople they are the vast majority of Church members and that, without them, the Church would be cold, a collection of statues.
Egyptian Copts Called ‘Infidels,’ Harassed For Attending Church
Last week, two churches in Egypt were subject to demonstrations by Muslim hardliners who prevented Coptic Christians from worshiping, claiming the churches are unlicensed. In a third incident, a police officer broke onto a church and screamed at the worshippers “Infidels … you are all infidels.”
At WMOF Closing Mass, Pope Francis Asks Families to “Love in the Heart of the Church”
At the end of this World Meeting of Families, we gather as a family around the table of the Lord. We thank God for the many blessings we have received in our families. And we want to commit ourselves to living fully our vocation to be, in the touching words of Saint Therese, “love in the heart of the Church”.
After First Day, Pope in Ireland Gets ‘Incomplete’ on Abuse Crisis
To some extent, it’s undoubtedly unfair to reduce Pope Francis’s visit to Ireland this weekend entirely to a referendum on his handling of the Church’s clerical sexual abuse scandals. The vastly changed social landscape compared to the last time a pope was here almost 40 years ago was visible, among other things, from the relatively light crowds that packed city streets as Pope Francis moved through Dublin.
At Our Lady of Knock Shrine, Pope Francis Prayed for “Suffering Members” of Church
I thank God for this opportunity, in the context of the World Meeting of Families, to visit this Shrine, so dear to the Irish people.
Ex-Papal Envoy to US Calls on Pope to Resign, Saying He Knew About McCarrick
Just hours after Pope Francis condemned the “repugnant crimes” of sexual abuse by clergy during his two-day trip to Ireland, news broke in the United States that a former papal ambassador to the country is accusing Pope Francis of having known about abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and failing to act.
Pope Meets Victims, Uses Strong Street Term for Abuse and Cover-Up
Pope Francis on Saturday met eight survivors of clerical abuse for 90 minutes during his 32-hour trip to Ireland. The group included not only those sexually abused by clergy, but also people who spent time in industrial schools and mother and baby homes, all of which have been the settings for abuse scandals.
Pope Francis Calls Families the “Hope of the Church and World”
I am grateful to all of you for your warm welcome. It is good to be here! It is good to celebrate, for celebration makes us more human and more Christian. It also helps us to share the joy of knowing that Jesus loves us, he accompanies us on our journey of life, and each day he draws us closer to himself.
LGBT Voices Say They Won’t Be Ignored
Since the summit of families in Dublin, originally designed to promote Pope Francis’s document on the family “Amoris Laetitia”, has been overtaken by the shadow of serious charges of sexual abuse and cover-up, it would appear that it’s not the time to shine for the LGBT constituency.