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Italy sees drop in native-born priests, increase in foreign clergy

New data released by the Italian church highlights what has been a concerning trend among Catholic leaders in the country for decades: namely, a drop in the number of local priests and an increase in the average age of Italy’s clerics. However, this data also found that while there are less men joining the priesthood […]

Why Bad Things Happen to People, According to 6,500 Americans

“Job and His Three Friends,” by 19th-century French painter Jacques Joseph (James) Tissot. Long before Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad Things Happen to Good People got Americans talking about theodicy in the 1980s, these famous thinkers wrestled with explaining why an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful God would allow suffering. Amid the pandemic and its 5.2 […]

Pope Francis to UNESCO: ‘The Gospel is the most humanizing message known to history’

Pope Francis said on November 12 that “the Gospel is the most humanizing message known to history.” He made the remark in a video message marking the 75th anniversary of UNESCO, the United Nations’ educational, scientific and cultural organization. “From my heart, I express my congra-tulations on the 75th anniversary of this United Nations agency. […]

‘Our Church is a place of serious crimes,’ France’s leading prelate says, as bishops adopt reforms

In his closing address at the French bishops’ meeting in Lourdes, Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the president of the episcopal conference, said that “our Church is a place of serious crimes, of frightening attacks on the lives and integrity of children and adults.” “We must recognize and confess it: we have allowed an ecclesial system […]

Catholic and Orthodox at odds over Greece papal visit

Catholic Church leaders in Cyprus and Greece have welcomed surprise plans for an early December visit by the Pope, as a chance to foster dialogue and improve links with the wider Catholic world. However, several Orthodox dignitaries have protested over the move, warning it would fuel scandal and division. “The Pope’s visit to Greece will […]

Leaked letter reveals Old Rite to be gradually phased out

Archbishop Arthur Roche, the leader of the Holy See’s divine worship office, has spelt out the Vatican’s position on the Old Rite. The liturgical celebrations which took place before the Second Vatican Council, he says, were legally abolished – “abrogated” – by Pope Paul VI. Although pre-Vatican II liturgies can continue as an “exceptional concession”, […]

The Covid Mass effect – dropped by 14%

The number of Catholics who say they go to Mass in US every week has dropped by 14% since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Pillar’s new Survey on Reli-gious Attitudes and Practices. That decline could explain a proportional decline in parish collections: In March, The Pillar found parishes experi-enced a 12% average decrease in collections during 2020 as […]

Pope: The Church should not be a servant of money, but cultivate trust in God who gives

Jesus invites us to “liberate the sacred from the bonds of money”, following the example of the widow who is not afraid to give all that she has “because she trusts in God’s plenty,” Pope Francis reminded the faithful at this Sunday’s Angelus in St Peter’s Square. Commenting on the passage proposed by the liturgy today, […]