Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI personally requested forgiveness from abuse survivors in a letter responding to a report that faulted his handling of cases during his tenure as Munich archbishop from 1977 to 1982. In an almost 1,000-word letter, the 94-year-old retired pope said that his pain was all the greater as he had “borne great
A Catholic doctor is preparing to challenge an order at the High Court in London which blocks him from offering life-saving treatment for unborn babies. Dr Dermot Kearney, a consultant cardiologist and past president of the Catholic Medical Association, is currently prohibited from offering a treatment known as “abortion pill reversal” (APR). The General Medical
Donations to Peter’s Pence fell by around 15 per cent in 2021, the Vatican has announced. In an interview with Vatican News, Father Juan A. Guerrero, S.J., prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, said that, while donations were still arriving from some countries, there was a marked decrease compared to 2020. He also disclosed
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has apologized for mistakenly saying that he did not attend a disputed meeting in 1980 while serving as archbishop of Munich and Freising. In a statement published in the German Catholic weekly Die Tagepost on Jan. 24, the 94-year-old retired pope said that the mistake was the result of an editing
A Catholic politician has objected to her inclusion in a report on Islamophobia in Europe, saying that it is based on “false accusations.” Marijana Petir, a member of the Croatian parliament, said that the reference to her and others in the European Islamophobia Report 2020, published on Dec. 29 to inform policy-makers globally of the
Archbishop Georg Gänswein said Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is praying for abuse victims in the wake of a report on the handling of abuse cases in Germany’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Gänswein, Benedict XVI’s private secretary, told reporters that the retired pope would read the extensive study in the coming days, reported CNA Deutsch,
A long-awaited report on the handling of abuse cases in Germany’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising has criticised Pope emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Reinhard Marx. The study found fault with the 94-year-old retired German pope’s handling of four cases during his time in charge of the southern German archdiocese. Media reports had previously focused
A former government minister facing jail after tweeting a Bible verse said that her trial next week will be a test of religious freedom. Päivi Räsänen, a physician and mother of five, explained that she had a “calm mind” ahead of the criminal trial beginning on Jan. 24. “I trust that we still live in
After a journalist reported on Pope Francis’ surprise visit to a record store, the Pope surprised him back — by writing him a letter. Javier Martínez-Brocal, director of the Rome-based news agency Rome Reports, tweeted a black-and-white photo of the Pope exiting a record store near the Pantheon in Rome. The photo went viral as
A Catholic bishop has criticised leaders of Germany’s “Synodal Way” for delaying a debate on gender-neutral language. In a Jan. 7 open letter, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg accused organizers of failing to keep a promise to hold a discussion at the Synodal Way’s next plenary session in February. “I protest against this approach. Once
Pope Francis has lamented “cancel culture” in his address to diplomats at the Vatican. Delivering his annual “state of the world” address on Jan. 10, the pope said that international organizations were increasingly pursuing “divisive” agendas at odds with the longstanding values of many countries. “Not infrequently, the center of interest has shifted to matters
Twenty-two Catholic missionaries were killed around the world in 2021, half of them in Africa, according to a report released by the Fides News Agency. Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, reported that of the 22 missionaries killed in 2021, 13 were priests, two were women religious, one was
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