Victims of Father Marko Rupnik’s alleged spiritual and sexual abuse on Tuesday expressed “bewilderment” with the Diocese of Rome’s recent statement praising the art and theology center founded by the former Jesuit artist, saying that it “ridicules victims’ pain” and shows little care for those seeking justice. In an open letter published on Sept. 19, … Read more
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is highlighting the overlooked right to remain in one’s country during its weeklong celebration of National Migration Week from Sept. 18–24. “For millennia, people have been forced to flee their homelands, seeking safety and security, because of factors beyond their control,” El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz, the … Read more
A comprehensive, yearlong investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Switzerland released on Tuesday has documented more than 1,000 instances of abuse dating back to the mid-20th century. The Swiss Bishops’ Conference commissioned the groundbreaking study by the University of Zurich’s Historical Seminar, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. “The findings expose … Read more
In the latest development in the ongoing dispute between a Texas Carmelite monastery and the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, former prioress Theresa Gerlach admitted to sexual misconduct and identified the priest involved as “Father Bernard Marie” in an audio recording played in court Tuesday. Though Gerlach identified the man involved as a member of … Read more
Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the embattled Bishop Rick Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee. Stika, 65, was investigated by the Vatican for mismanagement of his diocese. He is also named in a 2022 lawsuit (refiled in 2023) accusing him of protecting a seminarian accused of multiple counts of rape. The lawsuit also claims … Read more
Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, filed new theft and defamation charges Friday against Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth. The nuns’ new charges were filed in a district court for Tarrant County, Texas, the day after Olson dismissed the monastery’s prioress, Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, from … Read more
According to a German newspaper report, Pope Francis ordered Archbishop Georg Gänswein to leave the Vatican and return to Germany by the end of June. The longtime private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI has been told to return to his home diocese of Freiburg in southwest Germany but has not been given any role or … Read more
A Michigan Catholic priest who was removed from active ministry in 2002 after a sexual abuse complaint was brought against him pleaded guilty in state court April 25 to charges of sexually abusing a 5-year-old boy in 1987. Since the first complaint was brought to the Diocese of Lansing against Father Vincent Delorenzo in 2002, … Read more
The Vatican announced Wednesday that there will be laypeople participating as voting members in the Synod on Synodality’s October assembly, a break with past custom, which allowed laypeople to participate without the right to vote. Pope Francis will also approve every member in advance. The general assembly of the Synod on Synodality will take place … Read more
The Catholic Church currently receives millions in government grants each year trafficking illegal aliens. The Biden administration’s new immigration crackdown that was announced Tuesday received widespread criticism from Catholic leaders along the U.S.-Mexico border. Referred to by some as a “transit ban,” the new policy automatically denies asylum to migrants who cross the border illegally … Read more