While Pope Francis has urged diocesan bishops to take more seriously the canonical discipline of clerics, the outgoing chairman of the U.S. bishops’ canonical affairs committee has not taken steps to address canonically reports of public cohabitation by a senior-ranking official in his archdiocese. A spokesperson for Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee told The Pillar … Read more
With the Vatican City court due to deliver its verdict in the landmark financial crimes trial in just three weeks, defendant Cardinal Angleo Becciu has once again insisted on his innocence and said he “has faith” he will be acquitted of all charges. Over the past week, the cardinal and his legal team mounted a … Read more
When Archbishop Timothy Broglio began on Tuesday morning his USCCB presidential address on the state of the Church in the U.S., he quoted from scripture, urging that “whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” To most of those with ears to hear, it seems clear that Broglio was talking … Read more
The pope held a routine audience Saturday with a group from the Little House of Mercy Association, a charitable organization in Sicily. He began his brief remarks with a greeting. “I greet Bishop Rosario Gisana of Piazza Armerina: he is good, this bishop, good. He was persecuted, slandered, yet he stood firm, always, just, a … Read more
The Vatican has not responded to questions regarding the expense it incurred to organize and host October’s synod of bishops on synodality, a month-long meeting of more than 400 people, held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. But sources have confirmed to The Pillar that many of the costs associated with the meeting will be … Read more
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 initial draft of the “synthesis report” prompted more than 1,000 amendments after it was shared with participants Oct. 25. The 42-page final report, published Saturday … Read more
When Bishop Rick Stika resigned from the Diocese of Knoxville in June, he said in a statement that he hoped to find “relief” from the responsibilities he experienced as a diocesan bishop. But while Stika may now have found “relief,” many Catholics in the Knoxville diocese — including many of its priests — are still … Read more
Vatican City’s commercial bank denied Saturday that it holds deposits and lends money to the Russian state. The charge was leveled by a senior advisor to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who accused the Vatican’s Bank of harboring Russian funds, despite international sanctions. The Institute for Works of Religion “does not receive or invest Russian money,” … Read more
A Massachusetts priest facing larceny charges lived with a female parish employee for almost 10 years, apparently without intervention from his diocese, according to court documents in the priest’s criminal case. The priest reportedly spent more than $100,000 in parish funds for unauthorized purchases, including a snowblower, a riding lawnmower, and dozens of power tools, … Read more
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 3 million Catholics out of a total population of 8.7 million, announced the same day that the Vatican had asked a Swiss bishop to undertake … Read more