Austen Ivereigh

Pity Opus Dei Just when they ve dampened the fires of the Da Vinci Code they find themselves implicated in an extraordinary story of mafioso murders secret service intrigues and of course our old friends Archbishop Marcinkus and the Vatican Bank To be fair Opus Dei s involvement in the story o

Among the 17 modifications to its canonical norms dealing with grave crimes gravioribus delictis against the sacraments announced today the Vatican has extended the time allowed for a case against a priest for sexual abuse from 10 to 20 years from a victim s 18th birthday and has speeded the pr

Pope Benedict XVI s homecoming offer to Anglican opponents of women bishops looks more enticing now that the Church of England Synod has rejected a proposal for a separate jusrisdiction to accommodate them The scheme put forward by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York was voted down by the Church

Pope Benedict XVI s 16-19 September visit to the UK is firmly back on the tracks after three months of confusion following a change in government and seemingly endless changes to the timetable At least that s how it seemed yesterday at the Foreign Office where the Archbishop of Westminster Vince

Two things about Benedict XVI s UK 16-19 September visit became clearer this week the reason for the recent uncertainties about the itinerary and the messages which the Pope s three days on British soil are intended to send The Archbishop of Westminster s press conference on Tuesday shed light on

It wasn t anything new exactly and a lot less than I had speculated he might do but Pope Benedict s heartfelt words this morning before a sea of 15 000 priests in white albs in St Peter s Square was still pretty powerful stuff Speaking at the close of the Year of Priests on the 150th anniversar

More than 10 000 priests from 91 countries will gather in Rome today through Friday in what is thought to be the largest ever meeting of Catholic clergy The three-day program of events — mostly eucharistic as you d expect — marks the close of the Year of Priests declared by Pope Benedict XVI w

It all seemed to be going so well The itinerary was agreed following a Vatican delegation in January the costs were estimated and the fundraising got underway But now according to a blistering article in the Spectator and reports in the Daily Telegraph Pope Benedict XVI s 16-18 September visit

An apostolic visitation of the Church in Ireland will begin in the autumn the Vatican announced yesterday Two cardinals and three archbishops from the UK the US and Canada will offer assistance to the Bishops clergy religious and lay faithful as they seek to respond adequately to the situatio