Columnist: Luke Coppen
Australian Bishop Sentenced To 6 Years For Sexually Abusing Boys
The former bishop of Australia’s Broome diocese was sentenced Wednesday to six years and six months in prison for sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men. Bishop Christopher Saunders, who led ...
Second German Bishop In Two Weeks Resigns, Citing ‘Toll Of Office’
The Holy See press office announced Sept. 2 that the pope had accepted the resignation of Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen, eastern Germany, almost a year before the bishop reached ...
German Priests To Cardinal Marx: Homosexual Blessing Guidance Creates A Loyalty Conflict
Twenty-six priests in Germany’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising have reportedly written to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, saying that his request that they follow national guidelines on blessings has presented them ...
Vatican Watchdog: Suspicious Financial Reports Rose In 2025
The Supervisory and Financial Information Authority’s latest annual report, published April 30, detailed 78 reports of suspicious activities in 2025, 73 of which came from the Institute for the Works ...
German Bishops to ask Rome to Permit Lay Homilies
According to Church law, homilies at Mass are “reserved to a priest or deacon,” but lay people can receive permission to preach in a church or oratory, “if necessity requires ...
German ‘Synodal Way’ Meeting Ends In Clash
The “first phase” of the German synodal way ended Saturday with a heated debate over whether a new permanent national synodal body should regularly monitor the implementation of synodal way ...
Oops…Strasbourg Diocese Apparently Does Have An Open Sexual Abuse Case Against Its Vicar General After All
A senior official in France’s troubled Strasbourg archdiocese has said he mistakenly told media that a canonical case for child sexual abuse against a reinstated vicar general was closed when ...
Bishop-Elect Steps Down After Report Of ‘Inappropriate Behavior’ Toward Minor
A Polish priest who was named a bishop in July stood down before his episcopal ordination due to a report of past “inappropriate behavior toward a minor,” it was announced ...
German Bishop Resigns Early Citing ‘Inner Fatigue,’ ‘Synodal Way’ Doubts
A German bishop resigned five years before the typical retirement age Sunday, citing “inner fatigue” and expressing doubts that the country’s “synodal way” will lead to true renewal. Bishop Gregor ...
Austrian Bishop Names First ‘Episcopal Vicaress’
An Austrian diocese announced Wednesday the appointment of the country’s first “episcopal vicaress.” While the move is sure to provoke a response from canon lawyers — because the title of ...
Bishop Quits as Belgian Church’s Point Man on Sex Abuse
The bishop serving as the Belgian Church’s point man on abuse is stepping down, weeks before a papal visit that could be overshadowed by the country’s abuse crisis. Bishop Johan ...
Rupnik’s ‘Art’ Remains on Vatican Site Despite Appeal from Cardinal O’Malley
The Vatican’s media arm appears to be defying an appeal from Cardinal Seán O’Malley, who has urged the Vatican to stop using artwork created by alleged abuser Fr. Marko Rupnik ...
Bishop Abruptly Resigns from Tucho’s Former Diocese
Archbishop Gabriel Antonio Mestre stood down as the Metropolitan Archbishop of La Plata May 27, at the age of 55, two decades ahead of the typical retirement age for diocesan ...
Church in Slovakia Issues Landmark Abuse Report
The Catholic Church in Slovakia said Tuesday that it had received 68 abuse complaints since 1990, as it released its first comprehensive safeguarding report. The 35-page report by the Slovak ...
Strasbourg Bishop Resigns Amid Sexual Abuse Scandal
Pope Francis accepted the resignation Wednesday of a 51-year-old French auxiliary bishop. But while the local Church has insisted Bishop Gilles Reithinger resigned for “health reasons,” the bishop was also ...
Belgium’s Bishops have Repeatedly asked Vatican to Laicize Abusive Bishop
Speaking at a Jan. 26 hearing of the Flemish Parliament’s committee investigating clerical abuse, Bruno Spriet addressed the case of Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who resigned as Bishop of Bruges in ...
What’s Happening in Argentina? Second Bishop Resigns Before Installation
Pope Francis accepted the resignation Jan. 17 of 62-year-old Bishop Gustavo Larrazábal, 35 days after he appointed him as Bishop of Mar del Plata, in eastern Argentina, and just three ...
From Draft to Final Text: 10 Ways the Synod Report Changed
The report issued at the end of the synod on synodality’s first session evolved considerably from the day a draft was presented to delegates to its Oct. 28 release. An ...
Swiss Bishops Plunged into Crisis Ahead of Sex Abuse Report
The allegations against six bishops — four active and two retired — were disclosed Sept. 10 by the Swiss Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick. The bishops’ conference of Switzerland, which has around ...
Cardinal Ricard: Criminal Case Cannot Be Prosecuted Due To Statue of Limitations
French prosecutors announced Saturday that Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard will not face criminal charges after he admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens told AFP ...
The Dismal Synod Results
Is Pope Francis preparing to change Church teaching based upon the input of less than 1% of baptized Catholics? Pope Francis urged Catholics in Rome diocese last September to make ...