The cardinal’s decision comes at a time when there is a major crisis in the other large German diocese of Cologne linked to the abuse scandal and pastoral management of the archdiocese.
Europe
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis orders apostolic visitation of German diocese to investigate abuse crisis
Two envoys will work to get a “comprehensive picture of the complex pastoral situation in the archdiocese.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis and John Kerry meet to discuss climate change
As the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry met privately with Pope Francis on May 15 to discuss climate initiatives and other issues.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis: Countries with declining birthrates are ‘rich in resources but poor in hope’
The pope encouraged all government efforts for helping families’ real needs, saying, “if families are not the focus of the present, there will be no future.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
‘I’m angry about homophobia in my church’: Why this German Jesuit is going against a Vatican decree against blessing gay unions
On Sunday, Father Jan Korditschke will hold a ceremony at a Jesuit parish in Berlin for any couple, gay or straight, who seeks a blessing from the church.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
A coroner ruled that victims of 1971 Belfast massacre—a priest and 9 lay Catholics—were ‘entirely innocent’
A coroner in Northern Ireland ruled that a priest and nine lay Catholics who were shot dead by British troops almost 50 years ago were “entirely innocent” and their deaths were unjustified.
Posted inFaith, News
‘The love of homosexuals is something good’: German Catholics to bless gay unions, defying Vatican ban
German Catholics will bless same-sex unions at about 100 different services all over the country this week.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Catholic parishes in Germany to include gay and lesbian couples in planned ‘blessing services for lovers’
Catholic chaplains in parishes across Germany plan to invite people to “blessing services for lovers” on and around May 10.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Never forget the suffering and injustice of the gulag
Julius Margolin’s memoir of his time in the gulag tells his experiences through a shattering series of stories.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
‘The cathedral is saved’: Notre Dame two years after the devastating fire
Two years after a fire tore through Paris’ most famous cathedral and shocked the world, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the building site that Notre Dame has become to show that French heritage has not been forgotten despite the pandemic.