Former Downside students have expressed their sadness after it was announced that the monks are to leave their historic abbey.

La Crosse, Wisconsin Franciscan Sisters stop Perpetual Adoration A religious institute which has practised round-the-clock Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will reduce its adoration from 24 hours to 16. The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse were founded in 1878, and had continued the practice ever since. But the order’s president, Sister Eileen

Argentina is celebrating a National Marian Year – and one diocese has come up with a distinctive way to honour Our Lady. Parishioners at Our Lady of the Rosary in Hualfín, in the north-west of the country, suggested building 400 Marian grottos, since it is the 400th anniversary of the devotion to Our Lady of

Something missing from Little Women Little Women was one of last year’s most acclaimed films. But, wrote Charlotte Allen in the Wall Street Journal, the film misses one of the key themes of Louisa May Alcott’s original novel: namely, religion. The novel was a spiritual journey in which each of the March sisters struggles with

On Saturday February 15, a Requiem Mass for the composer and choral conductor Colin Mawby will take place at St Mary Moorfields, London. Some of Mawby’s own settings will be sung at the Mass, which begins at 11am and will be said by Mgr Gordon Read, national chaplain of the Latin Mass Society – of

What happened? The Diocese of Leiria-Fatima, Portugal, has introduced Communion for the remarried, but has not explained how it can be reconciled with Church teaching. Cardinal Antonio Marto announced last month that the diocese had helped two couples and a woman, all living in new unions, to “discern” that they should receive the Eucharist. Why

What happened? A senior papal aide has been sidelined amid ongoing controversy about priestly celibacy. Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who has served as prefect of the pontifical household during the papacies of both Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, has reportedly been asked to step back from some of his duties. Although no reason has been given

What happened? Cardinal Robert Sarah has rejected claims that he misrepresented Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, saying that there is “no misunderstanding” between them. Last week, Ignatius Press published a book in which both Cardinal Sarah and Benedict defended the institution of clerical celibacy. The cardinal and the Pope Emeritus were originally listed as co-authors, but after

What happened? A bishop who has refused to join the state-run Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) has been made homeless after being evicted by the local authorities. Bishop Vincenzo Guo Xijin, former the Bishop of Mindong, was told to leave along with the priests who work for him. Electricity and water was cut off to the

Tonight sees the launch of Catholic Theological Ethics and Street Homelessness by Rosanne Haggerty, described as the first book to look at “street homelessness as an area of development for Catholic Social Teaching”. It starts at 6pm at the University of Notre Dame, London: see eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-street-homelessness-catholic-theological-ethics-tickets-84588260765 *** The feast of St John Bosco (right) falls

A married priest on clerical celibacy What’s the point of celibacy? At his blog, Fr Dwight Longenecker – a married priest – argued that it has little to do with the greater availability of the unmarried. “Yes, the celibate man is more available and ready to serve,” he wrote, “but we all know plenty of

Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino has this season cemented his status as one of Premier League’s best strikers. But last week he declared that his “biggest title” was the love of Jesus. The occasion was Firmino’s baptism, which took place in a swimming pool. The brief ceremony can be viewed on Firmino’s Instagram account. The baptism