# Catholic Church
# pope francis
Pope Francis: Those criminalising homosexuality are 'wrong'
The Pontiff has written a letter clarifying his earlier comments about homosexual acts being a sin.
This week
22nd January 2023 - 28th January 2023
# LGBTQ
Pope calls for bishops to welcome LGBTQ people into church
Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty.
This month
January 2023
# Catholic Church
Pilgrims keep streaming to Vatican to honour Pope Benedict
The former pontiff’s body is lying in state after his death on Saturday.
Last month
December 2022
# Pope Benedict XVI
Irish and world leaders pay tributes as former pope Benedict XVI dies aged 95
Benedict XVI resigned as pope in 2013.
His health had been in decline, with Pope Francis calling for prayers in recent days
Benedict will be buried in the papal tombs under St Peter's Basilica
The German pope emeritus, whose birth name was Joseph Ratzinger, had been living a quiet life since his shock decision to step down
# Catholic Church
Pope Benedict XVI dead at 95: From the Nazi Youth to the papacy
The German national became pontiff in 2005.
Last year
2022
# Catholic Church
Pope removes entire leadership of Vatican-based Caritas charity
This comes after outside experts highlighted management and procedural “deficiencies”.
# redacted lives
'We were a pure Catholic nation - and anyone who challenged that in any way was punished'
The latest episode of Redacted Lives, The Journal’s new podcast, explores the power nexus between Church and State in Ireland.
The latest episode of Redacted Lives, The Journal's new podcast, explores the power nexus between Church and State
High Walls examines how and why so many unmarried mothers and their children were incarcerated in Ireland
Éamon de Valera tried to have the Constitution approved by the pope in 1937, Órla Ryan reports
# Abuse
Spiritans abuse survivor says 'balance of power' has changed as he urges more to come forward
The leader of the Spiritans in Ireland, Father Martin Kelly, also issued an apology to all victims on behalf of the order.
# Catholic Church
'Crying need' for atonement over Church abuse, says Archbishop of Armagh
Eamon Martin was speaking at a graduation in Maynooth University.
# Catholic Church
Vatican to launch preliminary abuse investigation into French cardinal
Jean-Pierre Ricard, a long-standing bishop of Bordeaux, admitted to a “reprehensible” act on a 14-year-old.
# Catholic Church
11 French bishops accused of sexual violence, senior church group says
All of the accused will face either prosecution or church disciplinary procedures.
# Father Séan Sheehy
Influential priest says LGBT Catholics are 'as much a part of the Church' as the pope
Father James Martin made the remarks following a controversial homily by Father Séan Sheehy in Kerry.
# Listowel
Priest who criticised same-sex relationships and free condoms stands by comments
Fr Seán Sheehy told parishioners on Sunday that sex between two men or two women is sinful.
# Kerry
Bishop of Kerry apologises after priest tells mass that free condoms promote promiscuity
Fr Seán Sheehy also told the congregation in Listowel that sex between two men or two women was a sin, as was ‘transgenderism’.
Voices
Holly Cairns: Calculating redress based on length of time in an institution is just wrong
The Social Democrats TD says the government’s redress scheme fails to consider human rights violations perpetrated on thousands of women and children.
# Nicaragua
Pope 'concerned' after Nicaraguan bishop detained
Pope Francis said he was following “closely with concern and sorrow” the situation in Nicaragua, two days after bishop and regime critic Rolando Alvarez was detained.
# pope francis
Pope Francis says he may have to slow down or retire
The 85-year-old pope has been using a wheelchair more frequently due to knee pain.
# Clerical Abuse
Portugal opens investigation into sexual abuse claims against Catholic Church
An independent commission gathered testimony from alleged victims.
# pope francis
Pope to begin ‘penitential pilgrimage’ in Canada to apologise to Native peoples
Pope Francis will express his sadness over the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools.
# pope francis
Pope appoints first women to Vatican department responsible for choosing new bishops
Two nuns and a laywoman have been appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops.
# unrest
Nigerian forces hunt gunmen who killed 50 at church
No-one has claimed responsibility for the killings.
# pope francis
Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals
Many of the names are figures from outside Europe, keeping with Francis’s determination to have church leaders reflect the global face of the Catholic Church.
# Donations
Churchgoers on island of Ireland raise €3.25 million for Ukraine
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin paid tribute to the generosity of parishioners.
# Catholic Church
Pope Francis apologises to Canadian Indigenous people for abuse at church-run schools
Numerous investigations into the former residential schools are underway across Canada after the discovery of mass unmarked graves.
# we vs i
Declaring thousands of baptisms in US invalid due to word error 'over the top', Irish priest says
Thousands of Catholics in the US and Brazil may have to be re-baptised because the priest in question said ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.
# baptism barrier
Dublin archdiocese saw 10% decline in christenings in the year after 'baptism barrier' was removed
Baptisms in Dublin dropped from 13,234 to 11,922 between 2018 and 2019.
In Dublin, the rate of baptisms decreased by roughly 10% between 2018 and 2019.
In that same year, Ireland’s birth rates fell from 61,016 to 59,796, according to the CSO.
Ireland in 2018 amended legislation to remove the so-called “baptism barrier”.
# British Columbia
93 potential graves found at Canada school site
Since May, more than 1,000 anonymous graves have been found near former schools run by religious groups.
# Courts
Retired priest accused of assaulting boy over 50 years ago in High Court bid to halt trial
The judge adjourned the matter to a date in March.
# Catholic Church
Ex-pope Benedict failed to act in four child abuse cases, report finds
The report analyses how abuse cases were dealt with in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising between 1945 and 2019.
# Italy
Rome church condemns funeral with swastika-draped coffin and fascist salute
The parish priest and the church distanced themselves from ‘every word, gesture and symbol’.
All time
# Family
Pope warns of 'demographic winter' and advises married couples to use 'please, thanks and sorry'
Francis has acknowledged how some relationships may have become strained during lockdown.
# pope francis
Pope Francis urges humility as he chides cardinals and bishops in Christmas address
As he has before, the pontiff used his annual Christmas address to take Vatican administrators to task for their perceived moral and personal failings.
Voices
Opinion: 'I spent fewer than six months in a mother and baby home and I was traumatised'
Mother and baby home survivor Beth Wallace says no one can suggest those who spent fewer than six months there were not traumatised.
# Vatican
Two priests cleared after Vatican sex abuse trial
The case was the Vatican’s first criminal trial for such allegations.
# France
330,000 children victims of church sex abuse in France, report estimates
The report said an estimated 3,000 child abusers – two-thirds of them priests – have worked in the church during the past 70 years.
# Vatican
Cardinal on trial as Vatican financial scandal case resumes
Cardinal Angelo Becciu served as the equivalent of chief of staff for Pope Francis at the time of the deal.
# Catholic Church
Catholic diocese in Northern Ireland opens redress scheme for survivors of 'abhorrent' child abuse
A 2011 report found 35 allegations made against 10 priests in the Diocese of Dromore.
# eamon martin
Catholic Church to 'reflect' on O'Brien's request to use land for housing
The Government last week launched its ‘Housing for All’ plan which aims to create 300,000 new homes by the end of the decade.
# Banned
Vatican sanctions Polish archbishop for cover-up of child sexual abuse
The retired archbishop has been banned from public service.
# church vs state
It's bishop's 'right' to hold communions despite Covid advice, says Catholic Comms Office
“The mission of the church cannot be put on hold indefinitely”, Bishop Kevin Doran said.
