World News
Close, while at a distance: Pope’s ministry flourished online
During the pandemic of the past year, Pope Francis and his team decided to help people experience how close he was to them in their isolation and suffering. Thousands responded by praying with him and for him. Again Italy is in COVID lockdown for Holy Week.
Pope cuts pay for cardinals, top staff at Vatican
To reduce costs and ensure workers are not laid off, Pope Francis approved salary cuts for lay employees at higher pay-grades and for priests and religious. Vatican revenues have been substantially reduced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian urges ‘deep breath’ after creation of artificial embryos
"Is this really such a good thing?" asked the archbishop of Sydney, who holds a doctorate in bioethics, after an Australian university said it had made human embryos from skin cells.
Legionaries’ abuse report names four more who worked in U.S.
The Legionaries of Christ religious order documented how at least 33 of its 1,353 priests ordained since 1941 committed sexual abuse against minors. Its founder was frequently accused of abuse.
German cardinal won’t resign over abuse, wants church law to change
Saying his resignation as archbishop of Cologne would be "too easy" and "a short-lived symbol," Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki pledged to stop the destruction of clergy files, which is allowed by canon law.
Manila churches again lock down for Holy Week, reopen for Easter
Parishes canceled Holy week celebrations after the government prohibited religious gatherings due to a spike in COVID-19 infections, the highest in the Philippines since the pandemic began.
New Zealand cardinal says church ‘ashamed and saddened’ by abuse
Representatives of the Catholic Church, Salvation Army and the Anglican Church in New Zealand gave opening statements at the first hearing of a Royal Commission on abuse from 1950 to 1999.
Ministry to families must meet their real needs, pope says
"It's not enough to repeat the value" of church doctrine on family life "if we don't compassionately take care of its fragility and its wounds," the pope said on the fifth anniversary of "Amoris Laetitia."
Abuse report exonerates Cologne cardinal, incriminates Hamburg archbishop
A report shows that clergy sexual abuse cases were handled badly in the German archdiocese, citing institutional protection, poor record keeping and ignorance of the law.
Poverty hitting Syrians hard even as fighting wanes, leaders say
Food, cooking fuel, jobs and especially hope are hard to find in Syria, said Catholic leaders on the 10th anniversary of the war that has displaced 11 million people and killed half a million.