Approval for the texts is still ongoing, and expected to be completed by the CBCEW in the Autumn of this year before going to the Vatican for review and confirmatio. The earliest date for publication of the new Lectionary, the use of which will be mandatory in England and Wales, is 2022.

The verdict makes Caloia the highest-ranking official so far convicted for financial crimes. However, the ruling shows that Caloia and the Liuzzos were convicted of minor crimes. The general framework of corruption outlined by the Vatican prosecutor suggests an appeal will be argued on grounds the sentences were not consistent with the evidence.

In his inaugural address, President Biden renewed his pledge to work for healing in the nation, after four frequently turbulent years that saw convulsion and tumult in the nation's capital.

Holy See abandons extradition request for Italian woman thought to have embezzled €575,000 of church funds

Cecilia Marogna faces extradition to the Vatican from Italy for allegedly misappropriating €575,000 from the Holy See

Lawyers and other advocates had long argued mitigating circumstances for Montgomery, including severe mental illness and a lifetime of suffering that included horrendous sexual abuse and torture that began when Montgomery was a small child, and lasted for years, should make Montgomery ineligible for the death penalty.

An appeal on behalf of the Polish citizen is being prepared with the European Court of Human Rights, and provision of food and water has been restored pending the appeal. 

The National Tribunal Service is to be established following a 2019-2020 review chaired by Ian Elliott, which the bishops commissioned into safeguarding practices and processes within the Catholic Church.

The bishops' statement quotes Pope Francis’s message to the United Nations, in which the Holy Father says complete elimination of nuclear weapons is a “moral and humanitarian imperative."

Houses of worship in England and Wales remain open, but several churches across denominations have taken the decision not to meet. "Catholic parishes," said Cardinal Nichols last week, "will continue to serve the needs of their local community."

Speaking to Mediaset Tg5 journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona, in an interview that will air in its entirety on Sunday evening at 20:40 CET on the Italian network, Pope Francis said: "I believe that, ethically, everyone must take the vaccine." 

"Even in the most mature realities," Pope Francis went on to say, "there’s something that isn't right -- something that causes people to take to the streets against the community, against democracy, against the common good."