The “note of the Apostolic Penitentiary on the importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the sacramental seal” was approved by Pope Francis June 21 and published by the Vatican July 1.
Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service
Posted inFaith, News
Australian bishops begin ‘ad limina’ visit with Pope Francis
The president of the Australian bishops’ conference told his fellow bishops that it is “a time of humiliation” for Catholic Church leaders, but he is convinced that God is still at work.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Vatican official on World Refugee Day: ‘We must try to help people, not harm them.’
“We must respond in a humane manner, a Christian manner, and we must try to help people, not harm them.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
What are the church’s laws for responding to sex abuse? It depends on state laws and culture
Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts has said that all members of the Catholic Church are obliged to act in accordance with local civil law on mandatory reporting of sex abuse cases.
Posted inFaith, News
Former secretary says officials knew McCarrick’s ministry was restricted
Pope Benedict XVI had imposed restrictions on the public ministry of former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick in 2008, but they were not formal sanctions and were not followed strictly, even during the papacy of Pope Benedict himself, McCarrick’s former secretary said.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis: Prenatal diagnosis of illness is no excuse for abortion
“Human life is sacred and inviolable and the use of prenatal diagnosis for selective purposes must be strongly discouraged because it is the expression of an inhuman eugenic mentality, which deprives families of the possibility of welcoming, embracing and loving their weakest children,” the pope said on May 25.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis asks Italian bishops finally to implement marriage tribunal reforms
Pope Francis told the bishops of Italy that he was disappointed that so many of their dioceses had yet to implement the reforms he ordered to make the marriage annulment process quicker, more pastoral and less expensive.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
In the College of Cardinals, European dominance slowly wanes
Pope Francis has gone “to the peripheries,” creating cardinals from 50 different nations, but Europe still accounts for more than 40 percent of electors in the College of Cardinals.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Refugees and visitors experience huge differences between Greek migrant camps
The papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, visited the Greek island of Lesbos, where migrants are being held pending the review of their status. He went to see firsthand what the migrants’ living conditions really are and what is being done to assist them.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis sends cardinal to Lesbos as refugees continue to arrive
When a Greek priest suggested that if Greece found a home for all the migrants and refugees in its camps, Turkey would just let more come over, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski balked.