Church News Archives - Page 6 of 137

Full Text: Pope Francis’ Homily for Christmas 2023

December 26, 2023

Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered on Dec. 24, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica. “A census of the whole earth” (cf. Lk 2:1). This was the context in which Jesus was born,

Müller – ‘Fiducia supplicans’ is ‘self-contradictory’

December 21, 2023

The Vatican this week prompted widespread debate among bishops and other Church leaders, after Monday’s publication of Fiducia supplicans, which offers a framework for clerical blessings of same-sex couples. While some have praised the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s text, others have raised serious

Bishops around the world are divided over Vatican’s same-sex blessing declaration

December 20, 2023

Catholic bishops around the world are deeply divided on a Vatican declaration that permits nonliturgical blessings of homosexual couples: some bishops are welcoming the news, some are approaching it with caution, while others are outright refusing to implement it. In some countries, including Austria, Germany, and France,

Pope Francis Did Not Just Authorize Priests to Bless Same-Sex Unions

December 19, 2023

For the second time in a month, the media has taken a document from the Vatican and mangled it beyond all recognition. In November, the subject was so-called transgender baptisms. Now, it is the supposed authorization of blessings for same-sex unions. But that’s not what the

The ‘spirit’ of ‘Fiducia supplicans’

December 18, 2023

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Monday released a document on same-sex blessings that has been widely anticipated since the July appointment of Cardinal Victor Fernandez as the dicastery’s prefect. The document allowed for the possibility of “spontaneous” blessings for same-sex couples. While it

Did the pope just permit gay marriage?

December 18, 2023

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Monday published Fiducia supplicans, a declaration which creates a framework for blessing same-sex couples. While the text insists those blessings are not to be liturgical events, or resemble marriage, headlines around the world have framed the text as the beginning of a

Vatican orders closure of community co-founded by Rupnik

December 16, 2023

The Vatican has ordered a religious community co-founded by the mosaic artist and former Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik to dissolve by October next year after it found “serious problems” related to its governance. The Archdiocese of Ljubljana in Slovenia, where the community was co-founded by

Pope Francis Celebrates 54 Years as a Priest

December 13, 2023

On Dec. 13, 1969, just four days before his 33rd birthday, Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio — who today is Pope Francis — was ordained a priest by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano, archbishop emeritus of Córdoba, Argentina. That Dec. 13, 54 years ago, was a Saturday,

Theodore McCarrick case in Wisconsin hangs in the balance after new competency exam

December 6, 2023

Just months after former cardinal Theodore McCarrick was ruled not competent to stand trial on criminal sexual abuse charges in Massachusetts, similar charges against him in Wisconsin now hang in the balance after a competency exam ordered by the court was filed in November. McCarrick

Canonization cause advances for ‘God’s architect,’ Antoni Gaudí

December 5, 2023

The beatification cause for Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect known as “God’s architect” and designer of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, just completed an important step on the path to officially declaring him a saint in the Catholic Church. Gaudí’s cause for beatification