Author Archive
Puerto Rico getting back on feet ‘step by step,’ but long road remains
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Knights of Columbus By Julie Asher WASHINGTON (CNS) — Nearly a year ago, Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico as a category 4 storm, and afterward 11-year-old Marco Lebron’s first thought was about the monks who teach at his school, Benedictine-run San Antonio Abad School and Abbey …
Pope says he trusts people to judge archbishop’s claims about him
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM DUBLIN (CNS) — Pope Francis said Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano’s long document calling on him to resign is written in a way that people should be able to draw their own conclusions. “I read the statement this morning …
Update: Pope begins Mass in Dublin with penitential plea for abuse scandals
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden DUBLIN (CNS) — Before celebrating Mass in a Dublin park, Pope Francis solemnly asked forgiveness for the thousands of cases of sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by Catholics in Ireland. “We ask forgiveness for the abuse in Ireland, abuse of power and of …
Former U.S. nuncio alleges broad cover-up of McCarrick’s misdeeds
By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A former apostolic nuncio to the United States accused church officials, including Pope Francis, of failing to act on accusations of abuse of conscience and power by now-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick. In an open letter first published by Lifesite News and National …
Update: Families called to share joy, love, life with the world, pope says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden DUBLIN (CNS) — In a stadium of Catholic families from around the world, Pope Francis told the laypeople they are the vast majority of church members and that, without them, the church would be cold, a collection of statues. “God wants every family …
Pope meets survivors of abuse in Ireland
IMAGE: CNS photo/Clodagh Kilcoyne, Reuters By Cindy Wooden DUBLIN (CNS) — Pope Francis spent 90 minutes meeting privately with eight survivors of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy or in Catholic-run schools and institutions. The meeting took place at the Vatican nunciature in Dublin Aug. …
Pope acknowledges ‘repugnant crimes’ of abuse in Ireland
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden DUBLIN (CNS) — Acknowledging the failures “of bishops, religious superiors, priests and others” in the Catholic Church to protect children from the “repugnant crimes” of physical and sexual abuse, Pope Francis began his two-day visit to Ireland. Meeting with civil, cultural and religious …
As survivors find voice, church leaders wrestle with how to address issue
IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth By Chaz Muth PITTSBURGH (CNS) — Pennsylvania survivors of clergy sex abuse spent the week after the release of the grand jury report finding their voice as bishops and priests in the state wrestled with how to address the growing scandal. Several of the survivors traveled …
Prominent Irish abuse survivor backs Cardinal O’Malley
IMAGE: CNS photo/John McElroy, courtesy World Meeting of Families By Sarah Mac Donald DUBLIN (CNS) — Marie Collins, a survivor of Irish clerical sex abuse, has given her backing to Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley as president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. At a news …
Film recalls Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Ireland, plea for peace
IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Torchia Communications By Steve Larkin WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new documentary, “John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea for Peace,” makes the case that the pope’s trip to Ireland in 1979 played a key role in ending the Troubles and bringing about peace in Northern Ireland. “When …