The vice president of the German bishops’ conference said Thursday he had thought about resigning after the publication of a report claiming he mishandled abuse cases, but that he had ultimately decided against it. A report published Sept. 20 said Bishop Franz-Josef Bode mishandled abuse cases in the Diocese of Osnabrück, in northwestern Germany, which … Read more
Cardinal Angelo Becciu said Wednesday that he is blameless in the forced resignation of a Vatican auditor, because it came at Pope Francis’ request. Cardinal Becciu was said to be responsible for the sudden firing in 2017 of the Vatican’s first auditor general, Libero Milone, as well as the cancelation of an internal audit. But … Read more
The vicar general for the Diocese of Rome has banned the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass during the Easter Triduum in his implementation of Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis custodes. In a letter dated Oct. 7, but made public on several blogs Nov. 9, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis said that Mass could continue to … Read more
A retired Vatican diplomat accused of sexual assault while in office is due to appear before the Paris criminal court in November. Archbishop Luigi Ventura resigned as nuncio to France in December 2019 at the age of 75. He had served in the post 10 years. Ventura was accused of inappropriately touching a young male … Read more
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said Tuesday that he would be willing to hold the hand of someone dying from assisted suicide, and that he does not see that as lending implicit support for the practice. Paglia spoke at a December 10 press conference preceding a two-day symposium on palliative … Read more
A bishop participating in the Vatican’s Amazon Synod said Saturday he would ordain women in his communities as deacons if the idea is recommended by the synod and permitted by Pope Francis. Bishop Dom Adriano Ciocca Vasino of the prelature of São Félix, Brazil said Oct. 12, there are women in his community who are … Read more
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop John Jenik as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and appointed two New York priests as auxiliaries of the archdiocese. Jenik, 75, was removed from ministry last year after the archdiocese found credible an accusation of sexual abuse against him. Jenik, who has been … Read more
Pope Francis has said a preliminary investigation against Bishop Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta has concluded and will now proceed to trial. Zanchetta, Bishop Emeritus of Orán, had been under Vatican investigation for sexual abuse of seminarians and other sexual misconduct. Pope Francis said in an interview with Valentina Alazraki published May 28 at Vatican News that he read … Read more
New Vatican norms for the Church’s handling of sex abuse, issued Thursday, place seminarians and religious coerced into sexual activity through the misuse of authority in the same criminal category as abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. The norms also establish obligatory reporting for clerics and religious, require that every diocese has a mechanism for … Read more
Pope Francis Monday accepted the resignations of Press Office Director Greg Burke and Vice Director Paloma Garcia Ovejero, who have served at the head of the Holy See’s press office as the pope’s spokespersons since August 2016. Alessandro Gisotti, currently coordinator of social media for the Dicastery for Communication and past deputy editor-in-chief of Vatican … Read more