I have long thought that some people are afraid of holiness. I guess I should include myself in that group. We seem to fear that holiness involves the shrinking of humanity, a denial of everything that we hold dear about being human. Of course, the opposite is the truth. Holiness is the fulfillment of humanity, the enriching of what is most wonderful about being human.
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”.
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.
Senators in Pope Francis’ native Argentina voted against a bill that would have legalized abortion on demand until week 14 of a pregnancy early Aug. 9, following a marathon session that came as the latest twist in a three-month national debate marked with massive public rallies both in favor and against the measure.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the death penalty now is no longer admissible under any circumstances.
After an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 57-year-old Auxiliary Bishop Juan Jose Pineda Fasquelle.
Despite repeated attempts to distance himself from his country’s sexual abuse crisis, including recently asserting there’s a climate of “slander” against the Catholic Church, Chilean Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago is facing mounting scrutiny for his role in the scandals both from outside the Church and within.
As war continues to threaten the land of Jesus’ birth and to undermine the existence of Christian communities there, the international community must learn from the errors of the past and do more to bring lasting peace to the Middle East, Pope Francis said.
Don’t waste your time being involved in palace intrigue, and focus solely on serving Christ and his Church, was Pope Francis’s message to the 14 new cardinals he created on Thursday.
After a day of touting ways in which Christians might share in greater unity, that commitment to coming together didn’t prevent Pope Francis from backing the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog in its decision to insist on caution regarding proposals for intercommunion with Protestants.
