Columnist: Christopher Altieri
Bishop Bransfeld ‘Gifts’ over $350,000 to other Clerics, but Bishop Lori Decided to Omit their Names from Report
The Archbishop of Baltimore, William Lori, is facing intense scrutiny over his decision to remove the names of several clerics — many of them senior churchmen — from a report ...
Things Just Got Worse. And They Also Got Better.
A while back, a friend of many years wondered aloud, “How bad does it need to get?” My friend was wondering about the crisis of leadership in the Church — ...
Pope Francis Knew About Zanchetta
Among the biggest of the pieces that dropped in the major Papal interview with Noticieros Televisa’s long-time Vaticanologist, Valentina Alazraki and the document dump on which Crux and CBS jointly ...
Bishop Under Investigation For Naked Selfies Goes On Spiritual Retreat With Pope Francis
Bishop Zanchetta joins the Pope and senior Vatican officials on the retreat despite being under investigation for sexual and financial wrongdoing The Catholic Herald has learned that a bishop currently ...
If You Read Just One Speech from the Abuse Summit, Make It This One
There’s one speech you need to read from the Saturday sessions of the Vatican’s child protection meeting — a day dedicated to the theme of transparency — and veteran Vaticanologist ...
What Was Missing from the Pope’s Closing Remarks at the Abuse Summit
The concluding address did not present a detailed, coherent strategy for reform Pope Francis this morning delivered his concluding remarks to participants in the four-day meeting on child protection that ...
2019 Marks the Beginning of a Generational Struggle for the Soul of the Church
Whatever else 2018 was, it was the year in which the crisis of clerical sexual abuse and coverup revealed itself to be a cancer within the leadership culture of the ...
Pope’s Remarks on Abuse Just More of the Same
“To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice.” Those were the words upon which reporters rightly ...
Cupich and Scicluna Hit Their Talking Points, but are Silent on Key Problems
Throughout recent interviews, both Cardinal Cupich and Archbishop Scicluna convey a persistent attitude of denial regarding the role of the bishops in the ongoing crisis. Two significant interviews dropped late ...
Buffalo and the Silence of the Bishops
We wanted to go back to the good old days, the happy time, when ignorance was bliss and Father could be trusted and the Bishop was a smiling cipher. What we ...
The Vatican’s Carelessness is on Display as New US Scandals Break
The US and Roman theaters of the crisis in the Catholic Church have entered a new phase of carelessness—of the reputations of men who may or may not have done ...
Cardinal Wuerl Is Gone — Or Is He?
Pope Francis’s acceptance of Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl’s resignation from the See of Washington, DC, we see an unmistakable pattern emerging. By accepting Wuerl’s resignation, but also keeping him on ...
Cardinal Ouellet’s Letter Forceful, But Does Not Provide Substantial Refutation
To cut to the chase: Cardinal Ouellet’s open letter (full text here) has confirmed there were restrictions on then-Cardinal McCarrick. This has been a major point of contention in the press, but ...
The McCarrick Case is Haunting the Youth Synod
One of the most striking things about this month’s Youth Synod is what is missing. We have heard from various quarters about the Synod Fathers’ need to be the leaders of ...
Viganò Corroboration #2: Spokesman Confirms Cardinal Wuerl Cancelled McCarrick Meeting with Seminarians
At the nuncio's request, Cardinal Wuerl cancelled an event where potential seminarians would have met McCarrick, a spokesman confirmed The bombshell letter of “testimony” written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, ...
Pope Francis’s Letter on Abuse Was Not Enough – We Need Action
The Pope must come up with a concrete plan to address the crisis Pope Francis has written another letter in the wake of the revelations regarding clerical sex abuse in Pennsylvania. From ...
