With the number of migrants arriving in Massachusetts outpacing available emergency supplies and housing, Boston’s Cardinal Seán O’Malley is urging local Catholics to contribute resources ahead of the winter season. Describing the situation as “a major humanitarian and societal crisis,” the cardinal asked pastors in an Oct. 23 letter “to prepare your parishioners to be … Read more
The Archdiocese of Boston is opposing a state bill that would eliminate the time limit for filing a civil lawsuit for claims of sexual abuse of children, saying it would put its efforts to assist victims at risk. In 2014, the state enacted a bill that extended the statute of limitations to when the plaintiff … Read more
Your browser does not support the video tag. Three former students at a Massachusetts Catholic high school have filed a lawsuit against Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley and other Church leaders because of alleged abuse committed by the school’s vice principal. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian on Monday announced that he had filed a May 5 lawsuit … Read more
Pope Francis sought to encourage his embattled child protection advisory board Friday, following weeks of turmoil sparked by the latest resignation of a founding member and fresh questions about its direction. Francis urged his Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to pursue a “spirituality of reparation” with abuse survivors and build a culture of … Read more
Father Hans Zollner, one of the leading members of the Vatican committee against child sexual abuse, said on Wednesday he had resigned from the group, citing concerns over the way it was operating. Zollner was one of the founding members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which Pope Francis established in 2014 … Read more
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, one of Pope Francis’s close advisers, has spoken out against conservative members of the Catholic clergy, defending the Pope’s comments attacking conservative news outlets such as EWTN. Speaking to Argentine newspaper La Nacion from his quarters in Rome, the 77-year-old Archbishop of Boston responded to why Pope Francis is “so questioned,” … Read more
Your browser does not support the video tag. On Monday, the Boston cardinal preached, “Abuse and its cover-up must stop,” and “the wrongs done to God’s people must be corrected.” But years ago, the New York Times reported that O’Malley “had been contacted as early as 2015 about former Cdl. Theodore McCarrick’s sexual assault … Read more
The Pillar reports: A group of more than 60 bishops has written to Archbishop Jose Gomez this month, pressing for the U.S. bishops’ conference leadership to suspend discussion “Eucharistic coherence” at the USCCB’s June meeting, despite a recent letter from the Vatican’s doctrinal office counseling the bishops to continue discussing the matter. Discussion on the … Read more
Catholic dioceses have begun dispensing parishioners from their obligation to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent. Another week dominated by news about the CO19 epidemic; another week without access to the sacraments. These are distressful times, and we are facing troubles that we could not have imagined, even a few weeks ago. As this … Read more
Cardinal Sean O’Malley offered his resignation to Pope Francis over the weekend, but the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston won’t be leaving his adopted hometown anytime soon, a spokesman for the archdiocese said Wednesday. Church law requires bishops to submit resignations when they turn 75, and Saturday was O’Malley’s birthday. But it is commonplace for … Read more