International

Pope to Curia: ‘Be vigilant, evil comes back under new guises’

Exchanging traditional Christmas greetings with members of the Roman Curia on December 22 , Pope Francis delivered a seven-point speech in which he asked them to never take the Lord’s graces for granted, to always walk a path of conversion, and to be peace-makers at a time in which we have never “felt so great […]

Pope makes Vatican foundations subject to control of Curia’s economic bodies

“The person who is trust-worthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” Pope Francis quotes Lk 16:10 at the start of the Motu Proprio released on Tuesday concerning instrumental juridical persons, including funds, foundations and entities that refer to the Holy See, and are registered in the list referred to in Article […]

‘Synodal way’ architect says political tactics built pressure for change

An architect of Germany’s “synodal way” has explained how organizers used tactics employed successfully in politics to build pressure for change in the Catholic Church. Thomas Sternberg said in a Dec. 2 interview that issues such as married clergy, women priests, and homosexuality were “opened up” by the initiative and were now being “discussed internationally, […]

U.S. Catholic population shows growth, trends southward

The Catholic population in the United States has grown by about 2 million people in 10 years. With nearly 62 million people, it continues to constitute the largest religious body in 36 U.S. states, according to the latest religion-focused survey of America’s religious congregations. Over the last decade, many Catholics, the survey found, have moved […]

Americans overwhelmingly support right to practice religion, new survey says

Support for Americans’ right to practice the religion of their choice rose dramatically this year, a new study by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty found. Becket’s “2022 Religious Freedom Index,” released Dec. 7, showed a substantial increase in support for “religious pluralism” — the ability to choose and practice one’s religion without fear of […]

The Vatican Is Buzzing with Conspiracy Theories as Hackers Take down the Pope’s Website

It is no secret that Pope Francis has been ruffling feathers on the global stage in recent weeks. He has angered Russia, Ukraine and China over his comments in the last month alone. So when the Vatican’s official website went dark on Wednesday, it was hard to determine just which of the pope’s enemies might […]

Pope: Polarization is not Catholic, dialogue is the only way

The interview was held on November 22 at his Vatican residence at Santa Marta and was conducted in Spanish by five represen-tatives of the American Jesuit magazine including its outgoing editor in chief, Fr. Matt Malone, S.J., and Fr. Sam Sawyer, S.J., the incoming editor in chief. Questions ranged from polarization in the U.S. Church, […]

By the numbers: Priestly ordinations falling in England and Wales

The number of ordinations to the diocesan priesthood in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row, according to new figures released this week. The statistics, published by the National Office for Vocation, showed a total of 21 ordinations in 2021 for the 22 Catholic dioceses in England and Wales, as […]

Eviction-facing Indian Catholics to fight Muslim charity’s claims

Goans oppose tourism project near 16th century basilica