From Sky News: Pope Francis has challenged European leaders to open their ports to people fleeing hardship and poverty, insisting the continent does not face a migration “emergency” but rather a long-term reality governments must deal with humanely. Francis said talk of a migration “emergency” only fuels “alarmist propaganda” and stokes people’s fears. “Those who … Read more
A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case charging former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial after psychological experts found he had dementia. McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019, became … Read more
San Francisco becomes the 31st US diocese to declare bankruptcy. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco filed for bankruptcy on Monday, saying a Chapter 11 reorganization will facilitate a settlement of about 500 lawsuits accusing the church of enabling childhood sexual abuse by priests. The filing in U.S. bankruptcy court in San Francisco will … Read more
A commission investigating child sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said on Tuesday the nearly 300 testimonies of alleged victims it has collected so far were “just the tip of the iceberg”. “There have been multiple cases of sexual abuse of children and teenagers in the past,” said the head of the commission, child … Read more
The Vatican has told employees that they may risk losing their jobs if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccination without legitimate health reasons. A decree by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, effectively the governor of Vatican City, said getting a vaccine was “the responsible choice” because of the risk of harming other people. Vatican City, at … Read more
A 39-year-old Italian woman with links to a deposed Roman Catholic cardinal was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Vatican’s latest financial scandal, Italian police and the Vatican said. Cecilia Marogna had worked for Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former top Vatican official who was fired last month by Pope Francis, who accused him of … Read more
A former Roman Catholic priest who fled to Morocco before he was returned to the United States and convicted of sexually abusing an altar boy in New Mexico in the 1990s was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in prison, prosecutors said. U.S District Judge Martha Vazquez imposed the sentence in Albuquerque federal court on … Read more
The Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, and people who say they were abused by its priests when they were children have reached a $40 million deal to settle their claims and allow the Roman Catholic diocese to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, lawyers in the case said on Wednesday. Insurers for the diocese, including Liberty Mutual, … Read more