Catholic World News on June 5, 2014
Pope seeks meeting with Patriarch of Moscow CWN - 11 hours ago
Pope Francis has send a message to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, saying that he is “willing to meet at any place,” the AsiaNews service reports. The Pope’s message to the Russian prelate was...
Former head of US bishops' committee on abuse testifies he never informed police about cases in his archdiocese CWN - 6 hours ago
Retired Archbishop Harry Flynn, who once headed the US bishops’ committee implementing norms for handling sex-abuse cases, has testified that he never informed police about abuse complaints in the...
Pope Francis reflects on the Holy Spirit’s gift of piety CWN - 16 hours ago
Resuming his weekly catechesis on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis devoted his June 4 general audience to the gift of piety. Pope Francis began the current series of Wednesday...
Leading Russian Orthodox official says Ukraine’s Eastern Catholics are playing ‘destructive role’ CWN - 17 hours ago
Speaking in Belarus, the chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Church Relations told the European Orthodox-Catholic Forum that “the Greek Catholics have played a very...
Cleveland diocese drops handling fees for annulment cases CWN - 5 hours ago
The Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, has announced that it will drop charges for the handling of annulment cases, beginning immediately. Bishop Richard Lennon said that the decision to stop charging...
Irish mass grave yield remains of almost 800 institutionalized children CWN - 11 hours ago
The discovery of a mass grave, containing the remains of nearly 800 young children, has revived accusations about abuse of children by Catholic institutions in Ireland. A researcher found the...
Australian business manager joins Vatican Secretariat for the Economy CWN - 11 hours ago
Cardinal George Pell has chosen a longtime aide to coordinate planning at the Vatican’s new Secretariat for the Economy. Danny Casey, who was the business manager for the Archdiocese of Sydney,...
Early retirements at Vatican bank suggest new push for reform CWN - 4 hours ago
Two ranking officials at the Institute for Religious Works (IOR) have been eased into early retirement, signaling a likely acceleration of reforms in the Vatican bank. The ANSA news service...
Colorado: Christian guilty of discrimination for refusing to bake cake for same-sex wedding CWN - 16 hours ago
Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission has ruled that Jack Philips, a Christian who owns a cake shop in suburban Denver, is guilty of discrimination because he refused to bake a cake to celebrate a...
African cardinal laments evils caused by negligent fathers CWN - 18 hours ago
Inaugurating an archdiocesan year of the family, Tanzanian Cardinal Polycarp Pengo said that “the evils that we are experiencing today are mainly caused by negligent fathers [and] husbands who ran...
Ukrainian prelate praises new president CWN - 18 hours ago
The secretary-general of the synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has welcomed the election of Petro Poroshenko as the nation’s president. “The new president is a practicing Orthodox...
Philadelphia archdiocese announces parish mergers; old parishes remain worship sites CWN - 17 hours ago
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has announced a new round of parish closures and mergers that will reduce the number of parishes to 219-- down from 266 in 2010, according to the King of Prussia...
Liberation theology, class warfare are 'archaic,' says head of CELAM CWN - June 3
The liberation-theology movement, which exerted enormous influence over the Church in Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s, is now “very archaic, if not already dead,” according to the president...
Oakland's Bishop Barber defends personal-conduct standards for Catholic-school teachers CWN - June 3
Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland, California, who has been roundly criticized for including a code of personal conduct in contracts for Catholic-school teachers, defended his policy in an interview...
Papal nuncio in Ireland sees revival of faith among young Catholics CWN - June 3
Archbishop Charles Brown, the apostolic nuncio in Ireland, reports that he has found a “renewed enthusiasm among young Catholics in Ireland now.” The American-born prelate, who was appointed to...
Vatican: no formal confirmation of plan for 2025 ecumenical gathering in Nicea CWN - June 3
The Vatican has declined to confirm that Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople have agreed to hold an ecumenical meeting at Nicea in 2025. In an interview last week...