In an apparent breach of the Vatican’s agreement with China on the appointment of bishops, the bishop of Haimen was installed as the bishop of Shanghai April 4.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley expressed his surprise, disappointment and disagreement with statements challenging the commission’s effectiveness made by Father Hans Zollner.

In a March 27 statement to OSV News, Archbishop Cordileone, who previously barred Pelosi from receiving the Eucharist in his archdiocese, said, “We know from science that life begins at conception.”

Imprisoned Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez appeared unexpectedly on Nicaraguan television March 24, more than six weeks after refusing to be exiled from his country, opting instead to face his sentence of 26 years behind bars. 

Pope Francis has updated the procedures for investigating allegations of sexual abuse, expanding the rules of “Vos Estis” to include Catholic lay leaders, who have the same responsibilities over members as a bishop over priests.

Human composting and alkaline hydrolysis do not satisfy the Catholic Church’s requirements for proper respect for the dead, the U.S. bishops said in a recent statement.