Church

Jesuits say abuse accusations against priest are highly credible

The Roman Catholic religious order of Jesuits said on Tuesday that accusations of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse against a prominent member of the order were highly credible and that restrictions on…

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Jesuit abuse case widens as victim speaks, order seeks witnesses

A case of sexual abuse rattling the Jesuits has widened with a former nun describing how her complaints against a prominent priest were ignored and as the religious order urged…

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Prominent Jesuit priest and artist disciplined after abuse allegations

The Roman Catholic Jesuit order said it disciplined a prominent priest and artist who reportedly sexually and psychologically abused nuns in his native Slovenia three decades ago. The Jesuits issued…

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French Catholics agree to sell property to compensate abuse victims

France's Catholic Church said on Monday it would sell real estate and, if needed, take out loans to set up a fund to compensate thousands of people sexually abused by…

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Muslim and Jewish Leaders call for protection of religious minorities in Europe

The Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) gathered 32 religious leaders from 20 countries in Ljubljana this week, meeting with high ranking Slovene officials to discuss the protection of religious minority…

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Report finds 216,000 children were victims of French clergy sex abuse since 1950

An investigation into sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church has found that an estimated 216,000 children were victims of abuse by clergy since 1950, Jean-March Sauve, head of the commission that…

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Limit Mass homilies to ten minutes, urges Pope Francis

Addressing the bishops and clergy of Slovakia in the Cathedral of St Martin, in Bratislava, Pope Francis urged priests not to exceed ten minutes during their Sunday homilies. He also…

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Pope starts ‘spiritual’ pilgrimage to Hungary and Slovakia

Vatican News -Pope Francis' 34th journey abroad, which also marks 54 countries visited around the world, aims to be "a pilgrimage to the heart of Europe, during which the Pope…

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Ireland’s Catholic church, government clash over COVID-19 restrictions

Five Roman Catholic bishops from Ireland's 22 dioceses are set to defy COVID-19 restrictions after instructing local parishes to hold communion and confirmation services this month, drawing a sharp rebuke from the government,…

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Learn to switch off, says Pope in first appearance at Vatican after hospital stay

VATICAN CITY, July 18 (Reuters) - Pope Francis made his first public appearance since returning to the Vatican mid-week after an 11-day hospital stay, telling wellwishers they should take a…

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“We’re all pained” – Canada indigenous leaders dismiss Pope remarks

Indigenous leaders and school survivors on Sunday dismissed Pope Francis' expressions of pain at the discovery of 215 children's remains at a former Catholic residential school in Canada, saying the church needed to do much more.…

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Arab countries are adapting Ramadan traditions to pandemic

The month of Ramadan begins on Monday for some countries in the Americas and on Tuesday for most of the rest of the world. The exact starting time depends on…

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The Cross is the Christological foundation of fraternity – Cantalamessa

Pope Francis lies down in prayer prior to celebrating Good Friday Mass for the Passion of the Lord at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic…

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‘I will listen’, says Cologne archbishop as he vows to tackle abuse

The Archbishop of Cologne outlined steps on Tuesday to help victims report abuse, improve priests' training and keep better records to prevent future misconduct after a report on the handling of sexual…

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European Bishops call for protection of work-free Sunday

Vatican News - Synchronised free time should be a priority in the EU social-policy agenda, according to European Bishops and other organizations. In a joint statement published Wedneday, on the occasion of…

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Pope urges Iraqis to shun past violence and give peace a chance

BAGHDAD, March 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, making the first trip by a pontiff to Iraq, made an impassioned call on Friday for an end to the militant violence, fratricide…

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Pope pays surprise visit to home of elderly Holocaust survivor

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis paid a surprise visit on Saturday to the home of Edith Bruck, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and author, and paid homage to all those…

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Pope urges people to and prays to the Virgin Mary to help children struggling with cancer

Ansa/Vatican News - Pope Francis on Monday, which is the international day against child cancer, tweeted "May the Lord inspire everyone to draw near to those who suffer, especially children,…

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Caring for the sick is not an “optional activity” for the Church, but an integral part of her mission – Pope Francis

Vatican News - The healing of St Peter’s mother-in-law is characteristic of Jesus’ miracles of healing, Pope Francis says during his weekly Angelus address. In St Mark’s Gospel, we read…

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Ireland to lay bare scandal of baby deaths at Church-run homes

DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish inquiry into alarming death rates among newborns at church-run homes for unwed mothers will hand down its final report on Tuesday, laying bare one of…

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After 54 years, first Mass on the site of the Baptism of Jesus

St. John the Baptist Chapel, on the West Bank, has announced that it will reopen for Mass in January 2021. For over 50 years, the site has been unapproachable because…

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Pope Francis to take vaccine next week

MILAN (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday he planned to have a COVID-19 vaccination as early as next week and urged everyone to get a shot, to protect not…

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Fabrizio Soccorsi – Pope Francis’ doctor dies after Covid-19 complications

Fabrizio Soccorsi, Pope Francis' doctor died. L'Osservatore Romano explained that the 78-year-old was hospitalised at Gemelli for an oncological pathology, but the death occurred following complications at Covid-19. Bergoglio had…

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Pope criticises people going on holiday to flee COVID lockdowns

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis condemned on Sunday people who had gone abroad on holiday to escape coronavirus lockdowns, saying they needed to show greater awareness of the suffering…

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Pope misses leading New Year services because of leg pain flare-up

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, suffering a flare-up of a sciatica condition that causes pain in his right leg, missed a New Year's Eve service on Thursday and will…

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Pope Francis appeals for help for quake-struck Croatia

Vatican News - Pope Francis said he is praying for the victims of an earthquake that struck central Croatia on Tuesday, killing seven people, injuring more than 20 and causing…

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Pope urges help for poor at low-key Christmas Eve Mass curbed by COVID

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis celebrated a low-key Christmas Eve Mass made sombre by the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday and said people should feel obliged to help the needy…

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Pope, for first time, says China’s Uighurs are ‘persecuted’

In a new book, Pope Francis for the first time calls China's Muslim Uighurs a "persecuted" people, something human rights activists have been urging him to do for years. In…

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Russia to investigate Jehovah’s Witnesses

Russia on Tuesday opened a new criminal case into Jehovah's Witnesses, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Tuesday, adding that the religion's management centre had illegally resumed working. Russian investigators said searches…

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Let us not give up on great dreams – Pope to youths

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica for the Solemnity of Christ the King, observed annually on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. “Before pouring out His love…

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Polish cardinal accused of sexual abuse dies aged 97

A Polish cardinal who was accused of sexually abusing a minor has died at the age of 97, Poland's Roman Catholic Church said on Monday. Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, the former…

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God entrusts talent to each one according to his or her abilities. Use it for good – Pope Francis

On the penultimate Sunday of the liturgical year, Pope Francis reflected on the Parable of the Talents in St Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus shares this parable in His discourse on the…

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Pope vows to ‘uproot evil’ of clerical sexual abuse

Pope Francis, in his first public comment after the release of an explosive report on the Vatican's mishandling of the case of ex-U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, on Wednesday again vowed…

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Report into disgraced ex U.S. cardinal shows failings by popes, top clerics

Pope John Paul II promoted ex-U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in 2000 despite rumours of his sexual misconduct, a Vatican report found, one of a series of failings by popes and…

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American bishops welcome Biden’s election citing ‘time for unity’

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops congratulated the Democratic candidate: "We acknowledge that he joins the late President John F.…

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Australian media face trial over Cardinal Pell’s child sex abuse case reporting

A trial began on Monday alleging dozens of journalists, editors and media companies breached an Australia-wide court suppression order in reporting on ex-Vatican treasurer George Pell's child sex abuse conviction…

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Pope calls for clean finance in Moneyval meeting

Pope Francis insisted on the need for clean finance which serves humanity, especially the weakest memebrs of society. While addressing evaluators of the Moneyval Programme, the Head of the Catholic…

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Pope says free market, ‘trickle-down’ policies fail society

Pope Francis said on Sunday that the COVID-19 pandemic was the latest crisis to prove that market forces alone and “trickle-down” economic policies had failed to produce the social benefits…

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Pope Francis signs Encyclical Fratelli Tutti in Assisi

Pope Francis went on Saturday to Assisi for the fifth time during his pontificate. There he signed his new Encyclical Fratelli tutti, before the tomb of St Francis of Assisi, after…

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(Pope) Francis visits (St) Francis Hometown in Francis style

Pope Francis waves from the seat of a car as he on the square of the lower Basilica of San Francesco, in Assisi, Italy, 03 October 2020. In the basilica's…

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Bishop Mario Grech officially appointed General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops

The Holy See Press Office noon-day bulletin on Wednesday contained the news that Pope Francis accepted on Tuesday the resignation of Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri from his position as the General…

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Pope appeals to protestors and governments

Pope Francis addressed the “numerous popular manifestations of protest” throughout the world in remarks spoken after the Angelus on Sunday. Pope Francis turned his thoughts to those protesting in numerous…

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“All brothers” : Latest Pope Francis encyclical to be signed in Assisi

Pope Francis will visit the Italian town of Assisi on 3 October to sign a new encyclical. In a statement released on Saturday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo…

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European bishops demand Belarus allow return of Catholic leader

Roman Catholic bishops urged Belarus’s leader Alexander Lukashenko to let its most senior cleric come back into the country. Minsk’s archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (photo), who has angered Lukashenko by defending…

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Pope Francis appeals for dialogue in the easter Mediterranean

Pope Francis prayed for the "instability" in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. "I follow with concern the tensions in the eastern Mediterranean", he said. The Pope did not mention the countries…

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Have the courage to be happy – Pope Francis

In a post on Facebook, Pope Francis invited his followers to have the courage to be happy. https://www.facebook.com/498163663575664/posts/3361759963882672/?extid=XG0dDIcMc9Iv1ekc&d=n

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Free “Our Lady” from influence of Mafia – Pope Francis

Pope Francis is calling for authentic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary to be freed from “superstructures, powers or conditioning that does not correspond to the Gospel criteria of justice,…

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Pope sends ventilators and scanners to needy hospitals in Brazil

Pope Francis continues to make his heartfelt appeal for generosity and solidarity for communities and countries hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic by personally leading the way through concrete acts…

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Mary’s Assumption huge step forward for humanity – Pope Francis

Addressing a holiday crowd from the window of his studio overlooking the square, the Pope said that in Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, we celebrate an infinitely greater conquest than the…

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N Korea Pyongyang’s diocese to be dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima

The Diocese of Pyongyang, North Korea, is to be dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima on 15 August, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Vatican News…

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Crucifix in Nicaragua cathedral torched in ‘hatred of the Church’

Vatican News reports witnesses saying that a hooded man entered the Chapel of the Blood of Chris, Managua on Friday and threw a Molotov cocktail. The petrol bomb started a fire…

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Don’t leave the ‘grandparents’ alone – Pope Francis

After reciting the Angelus in St Peter's Square, Pope Francis recalled the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Ann, Jesus's grandparents. The Pope invited them to reach out tenderly to…

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The virtue of patience and a renewed call for a global ceasefire characterises Pope Francis Angelus on Sunday

Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for a global ceasefire to combat the coronavirus pandemic that continues to claim lives and wreak havoc on the economy. Speaking during the Angelus in…

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Pope Francis holds first audience after lockdown

Pope Francis yesterday held his first audience for a group of people since Italy lifted its coronavirus lockdown, granting it to health workers from the Italian region most affected by…

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Alex Zanardi in serious condition following a road accident during a Paralympic relay race stage

Alex Zanardi was seriously injured and in a reportedly grave condition following a road accident in the province of Siena, during one of the stages of the relay of Obiettivo…

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Muslims celebrate one of their biggest holidays under the shadow of the coronavirus

Muslims worldwide will celebrate one of their biggest holidays under the long shadow of the coronavirus, with millions confined to their homes and others gripped by economic concerns during what…

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Pope says Thursday will be day of prayer for all religions for end to pandemic

Thursday will be a day of prayer for all religions, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience on Wednesday. He said he had agreed to a request from the…

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