The Catholic Church has joined relief efforts as unprecedented floods and landslides continue to wreak havoc in India’s Kerala state, killing about 370 people within a week.
International News
Pope Vows Accountability for Abuse Cover-ups
In a forceful letter released just ahead of his Aug. 25-26 trip to Ireland, and just after the blistering Pennsylvania Grand Jury report on sex abuse crimes and cover-ups in six dioceses, Pope Francis wrote Monday “no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated.”
Slovak Teen to Be Beatified As Martyr to Purity
A 16-year-old peasant girl will be beatified as a martyr in Slovakia, seven decades after she was shot in front of her family for resisting rape by a drunken Soviet soldier.
Reaction to Pope’s Abuse Letter: Words Alone Are Not Enough
Although Pope Francis got credit from survivors for good intentions after a letter on Monday on the abuse crisis in which he confessed that the Church “showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them,” the overall reaction perhaps could be summarized as, “We’ve heard it all before.”
Pope Excited to Celebrate With Families in Ireland
As he prepared to travel to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis said he hoped his visit would “remind us all of the essential place of the family in the life of society and in the building of a better future for today’s young people.”
Christians, Muslims in Israeli Village Feel ‘Second-Class’ After New Law Passed
In this small hillside village in the Lower Galilee, a church steeple and a minaret pierce the sky above its winding streets – neighboring dual structures that are symbolic of life on the ground where the town’s Muslim and Christian inhabitants live peacefully alongside one another.
The Anniversary of Our Lady of Knock
A large contingent of Catholics from the Brooklyn Diocese are in Ireland for the World Meeting of Families. One stop on their trip: Our Lady of Knock Shrine.
Pope Francis Pens Personal Letter in Response to Abuse
Pope Francis has responded to new reports of clerical sexual abuse and the ecclesial cover-up of abuse. In an impassioned letter addressed to the whole People of God, he calls on the Church to be close to victims in solidarity and to join in acts of prayer and fasting in penance for such “atrocities”.
Cardinal Wuerl Pulls Out of Dublin Summit Amid Charges of Mishandling Abuse Claims
After facing intense scrutiny for his handling of sex abuse cases in Pittsburgh in the 1980s and 1990s, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., has withdrawn from participating in the World Meeting of Families in Ireland.
Vatican Responds to Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report
Regarding the report made public in Pennsylvania this week, there are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow. The Holy See treats with great seriousness the work of the Investigating Grand Jury of Pennsylvania and the lengthy Interim Report it has produced.