Newsroom

The week's reporting from across the Catholic world — what happened, who said what, and what it means.

Pope Francis installs cross in Vatican for migrants who died in Mediterranean

pope francis has hung a cross encircled by a life jacket inside a vatican building in memory of migrants and refugees who have lost their li...

Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

What Christmas has to do with trade deals

" o admirabile commercium : o marvellous exchange! man’s creator has become man, born of a virgin. we have been made sharers in the divinity...

Fr Dominic Allain

Christmas is the most perfect expression of divine gentleness

christmas – mass during the night is 9:1-6; ps 96; titus 2:11-14; lk 2:1-14 the old testament readings for the christmas season are an expre...

Bishop David McGough

Digital detoxes rarely work. Here are ten things that do

i wonder how many people will wake up on christmas morning to find some new piece of tech in their stocking? i won’t, and not just because i...

Sister Catherine Wybourne

Democracy is in retreat – but heroic activists are emerging

jesus christ was a refugee who grew up to become a dissident. of course he is much more than that – he is god incarnate, emmanuel – but as w...

Benedict Rogers

Why Iraq's Christians are toning down the festivities

the leader of iraq’s largest christian community has scrapped christmas parties, trees, receptions and other festivities “out of respect” fo...

John Pontifex

Australia's religious freedom bill still contains glaring omissions

the long-awaited second draft of the australian religious discrimination bill was released on december 11 after the first in august received...

Natasha Marsh

2019 was dominated by scandal – but there were glimmers of light

this has been a tough year for the us church. the abuse crisis has once again dominated the headlines. the year began with the dismissal fro...

Jordan Bloom

World news: from Buenos Aires to Bhopal

sacramento six california dioceses subpoenaed the office of california’s attorney general has informed six dioceses that they will be issued...

Staff writers

Meanwhile

if you get restless about the length of homilies, just be thankful it’s not worse. a new survey suggests that catholic priests give the brie...

Staff writers

December 20, 2019

The Catholic Herald

Vatican's investment funds were vehicles for Italian bank fraud

two investment funds used by vatican dicasteries were also used by a major italian bank to conceal illegal investments for which the bank wa...

Ed Condon/CNA

The change to the ‘pontifical secret’ does less than it appears to do

by now, readers will have heard that pope francis has issued a rescript lifting the so-called “pontifical secret” under which the church has...

Christopher R. Altieri

Priests respond to Archbishop Paglia: 'Accompaniment isn't directionless'

after a prominent archbishop commented to journalists last week that he would hold the hand of a person dying of assisted suicide, two pries...

Jonah McKeown/CNA

Priests respond to Archbishop Paglia: 'Accompaniment isn't directionless'

after a prominent archbishop commented to journalists last week that he would hold the hand of a person dying of assisted suicide, two pries...

Jonah McKeown/CNA

Vatican's investment funds were vehicles for Italian bank fraud

two investment funds used by vatican dicasteries were also used by a major italian bank to conceal illegal investments for which the bank wa...

The Catholic Herald

The change to the 'pontifical secret' does less than it appears to do

by now, readers will have heard that pope francis has issued a rescript lifting the so-called “pontifical secret” under which the church has...

Christopher R. Altieri

Accused nuncio to France resigns post

pope francis has accepted archbishop luigi ventura's resignation as apostolic nuncio to france. ventura was accused of sexual assault earlie...

Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Senior Victoria cops said Pell investigation could distract from major police scandal

senior police officials in the australian state of victoria discussed by email the way that their 2014 investigation into cardinal george pe...

Ed Condon/CNA

For Gaza Christians, no Christmas travels to Bethlehem and Jerusalem

church leaders in jerusalem are appealing to israeli authorities to reverse a decision that prohibits the christmastime travel permits that ...

Catholic News Agency

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