Every leader has stretches he or she probably would like to forget. Mid-August, for instance, was one of those times for US President Joe Biden, as the chaos of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan sent his poll numbers into a death spiral from which he still hasn’t recovered. For Pope Francis, though not quite on … Read more
As the nation’s bishops convene this week for their first in-person general assembly in two years, the in-person conversations on a controversial document on the Eucharist have taken a different tone, according to one committee chairman. U.S. bishops met in private session on Monday; the first day of their fall general assembly from Nov. 15-18 … Read more
President Joe Biden received Communion at St. Patrick’s Church, Rome’s American parish, during Saturday Vigil Mass, a day after saying Pope Francis told him he should continue to partake in the sacrament despite opposition of some conservatives in the U.S. upset with his position on abortion. Biden and his wife, Jill, visited the English-speaking church … Read more
Somewhere out in the ocean right now, a small buoy is measuring wave direction and speed, along with barometric pressure and water temperature, feeding that data back to observatories. Even small upticks or downticks may signal the first stirrings of what could become a devastating storm. You don’t need special equipment, however, to detect warning … Read more
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair have all been named in the exposé of the financial secrets and offshore dealings known as the Pandora Papers. However, there’s only one Catholic institution named: The Legionaries of Christ religious order. The order was founded by Father Marcial … Read more
While Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu is the most high-profile defendant among those indicted by Vatican prosecutors over a disputed London real estate deal, a group of four Italian laymen, both inside the Vatican and out, loom as the real architects of the scheme, forming the heart of what one senior Vatican official described as a … Read more
Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, a veteran prelate who once boasted of his friendship with the pope, will be tried criminally in October in his former diocese on allegations of sexual abuse against seminarians. A hearing in the case against the former bishop of Oran, in Argentina’s northern Salta region, will take place Oct. 12-15 of … Read more
The Diocese of Fargo said July 2 it has added the late Bishop James S. Sullivan, sixth bishop of Fargo, to its list of clergy with credible accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor. The diocese said it took this action after it was informed by the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, that an investigation of … Read more
With release of an annual report showing a healthy profit in 2020 despite the Coronavirus pandemic, Friday capped what’s already been a good run in June for the Institute for the Works of Religion, the so-called “Vatican bank,” including good grades from Europe’s top financial watchdog and a key recognition by the IRS in America. … Read more
Several priests, some of whom were former students at a minor seminary located in the Vatican, testified at the ongoing trial of Father Gabriele Martinelli, who is accused of sexually abusing a younger student at the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary. The priests — Fathers Giuliano Zanotta, Daniele Pinton, Giampaolo Cozzi, Alessio Primante and Ambrogio Marinoni … Read more