As Holy Week and Easter approached, Pope Francis wanted to show his ongoing concern for people persecuted and displaced by violence in Iraq and in northern Nigeria.
Vatican
US Priest: From Movie Sets to Vatican Ministry
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On a movie set in Hollywood, Scott Borgman was hooking a camera to the bottom of a vintage car when he told a fellow key-grip about his decision to go to France and enter the seminary. “He stopped what he was doing, put the tools down, and said, ‘Scott, I think […]
Vatican Defends Appointment of Bishop
By Laura Ieraci VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The appointment of a controversial bishop in Chile was made after a careful review found no “objective reasons” to prevent Bishop Juan Barros from taking over the Diocese of Osorno, the Vatican press office said. The bishop had been accused of covering up for a priest who was […]
Bishop’s Conferences Reminded Of Limits to Their Authority
By Jonathan Luxmoore WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has advised bishops’ conferences not to take “doctrinal and disciplinary decisions” on issues that rightly fall under the magisterium of the church. Cardinal Gerhard Muller said that while bishops’ conferences have authority on some matters, “they don’t constitute […]
Traditionalist Bishop Incurs Automatic Excommunication
British Bishop Richard Williamson, who has denied the Holocaust, has been automatically excommunicated along with the priest he illicitly ordained a bishop.
The Indomitable and Effective Cardinal Pell
Shortly after Cardinal George Pell was named Archbishop of Melbourne, he instituted several reforms at the archdiocesan seminary, including daily Mass and the daily celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, both of which had fallen by the wayside in the preceding years.
Pope Announces Holy Year of Mercy
The biblical theme of the year, he said, will be “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,” an admonition that applies “especially to confessors,” the pope said with a smile.
What is a Holy Year?
For the Catholic Church, a holy year remains a time of great spiritual significance, and emphasis is placed on the examination of conscience and conversion, the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation, concrete acts of solidarity and initiatives to restore justice.
Vatican Sets Date for Romero’s Beatification
Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero will be beatified in San Salvador May 23, said Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the chief promoter of the archbishop’s sainthood cause.
A Short Papacy?
Last week, we celebrated two years in the Petrine office for Pope Francis and as is his way, he gave an interview to a television network, Televisa. In the course of the interview, the Holy Father stated: “I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief… four or five years. I don’t know, even […]