World News
Church must move from sorrow to action on abuse, archbishop says
Following the report on clerical sexual abuse in France, the Vatican's top investigator of abuse cases said "mourning" must give way to a "determination and conviction to act."
Plenary Council asks Australian church to embrace its diversity
One of the key questions is how the church might better embrace its diverse liturgical traditions and the cultural gifts of immigrant communities to enrich the church in Australia.
After Pandora Papers report, Legionaries of Christ deny wrongdoing
A network of offshore trusts set up by priests and businessmen close to the Legionaries of Christ moved some $295 million around four continents, according to a trove of leaked documents.
Pope to begin synodal process with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica
With a day of reflection preceding a Mass Oct. 10 at the Vatican, Pope Francis will formally launch the process of the Synod of Bishops for the world. The diocesan phase from October to April will feature consultations with local Catholics.
Irish president withdraws from prayer service, saying it’s politicized
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, has joined other Christian leaders in appealing for "prayerful support" from congregations for a service to mark the centenary of the division of the Island of Ireland into two separate states.
Leaders in religion, science unite to urge action on climate change
The British ambassador to the Holy See, touting a 40-nation conference at the Vatican, hopes the world's religious leaders will help their congregations "understand the challenges the world is facing, and the kind of responses needed," and to put moral pressure on political leaders.
South Sudan church leaders work for peace, but soldiers won’t listen
Armed conflict continues to cause death and displacement in the world's newest country, pushing bishops and priests to plead for victims, who are being starved and "slaughtered."
Head of German bishops calls for courageous change in church, society
Ahead of that nation's second Synodal Assembly, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg criticized the Vatican on refusing to bless same-sex couples and its handling of bishops accused of covering up sexual abuse.
Canadian bishops apologize for abuses, ongoing trauma of Indigenous
In a Sept. 24 statement, the nation's bishops acknowledged "the suffering experienced in Canada's Indian Residential Schools," and raised the possibility of a visit by the pope to Canada.
Defend life, promote access to health care for all, pope says
Meeting members of the Pontifical Academy for Life Sept. 27, Pope Francis said COVID should make those who are well-off think about "what it means to be vulnerable and live in precariousness on a daily basis."