Monthly Archives: March 2016

Pope Francis Palm Sunday homily likens refugees’ suffering to Christ’s

Posted on March 21, 2016 by

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (cf. Lk 19:38), the crowd of Jerusalem exclaimed joyfully as they welcomed Jesus. We have made that enthusiasm our own: by waving our olive and palm branches we have … Continue reading →

Posted in migration/refugees, Pope Francis, Pope Francis homily, Uncategorized

Pope calls on nations to ‘open hearts and doors’ to refugees

Posted on March 17, 2016 by

[Austen Ivereigh] In a direct appeal to the compassion of wealthy nations, Pope Francis yesterday described how hungry and cold migrants were being shut out from nations which had closed their hearts to their plight, likening them to exiled Israelites who … Continue reading →

Posted in mercy, migration/refugees

Pope Francis clamps down on costs of saint-making to ensure fairness

Posted on March 11, 2016 by

[Austen Ivereigh] In a move designed to ensure that the costs of canonisation are transparent and fair and do not favour the wealthy, Pope Francis has imposed new accountability rules on the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Now an … Continue reading →

Posted in canonisations/beatifications

Church across the globe growing faster than population, new survey shows

Posted on March 9, 2016 by

[Austen Ivereigh] Numbers of baptised Catholics in the world went from just over 1.1bn to just under 1.3bn over the nine years from 2005 to 2014, an increase of 157m Catholics according to statistics just released by the Vatican. The rate of increase … Continue reading →

Posted in church statistics, statistics

Republican Catholics in US repudiate Trump and all his works

Posted on March 8, 2016 by

[Austen Ivereigh] Donald Trump is “manifestly unfit to be president of the United States”, has driven politics to new depths of vulgarity, plays on racial fears, and favours torture while giving little indication that he is pro-life, defends religious freedom or the principle of limited … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized

Ballarat survivors meet with Pope’s anti-abuse commission

Posted on March 4, 2016 by

Three Australian victims of clergy sexual abuse who have been in Rome this week for the Cardinal George Pell hearings (see CV Comment) have met with a senior member of the Pontifical Commission for Minors, the Commission said today. Fr. Hans … Continue reading →

Posted in abuse | 1 Comment

Cardinal Pell statement following meeting with abuse survivors in Rome

Posted on March 3, 2016 by

Australian abuse survivors who have been in Rome this week listening to Cardinal George Pell give testimony via video link met with him today in a private meeting of just over an hour. The dozen survivors are from the cardinal’s former diocese of … Continue reading →

Posted in abuse | 1 Comment