WelCom August 2021 Pope Francis has again encouraged the ministry of New York-based, Fr James Martin sj, to LGBT persons and with words that could also encourage others in this work. He did so on the eve of the Outreach 2021 LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] Catholic ministry conference that took place by webinar […]
WelCom August 2021 The emergence of a ‘Fourth Church’ in New Zealand calls for genuine dialogue among the various traditions of Catholicism in this country, says Dr Joe Grayland, priest and theologian in the Diocese of Palmerston North. Shema Israel: ‘Listen Israel, the Lord your God is One. Love the Lord with all your heart, […]
WelCom August 2021 In his message for the fifth World Day of the Poor, for 14 November 2021, released 14 June this year, Pope Francis has appealed for a new global approach to poverty. He said ‘the very concept of democracy is jeopardised’ when the poor are marginalised and treated as if they are to […]
WelCom August 2021 With the visit of Canadian Indigenous delegations to the Vatican confirmed for December, some Indigenous leaders have said they intend to use the meeting to encourage Pope Francis to come to Canada to make a formal apology for the atrocities committed at church-run residential schools. ‘The whole system of residential schools was […]
WelCom August 2021 Pope Francis has tightened restrictions on where the old Latin Mass can be celebrated and who can celebrate it, and will require new permissions from local bishops. In a motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes, the Pope reinforced limits on the celebration of the Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council for the […]
WelCom August 2021 A divided conference of US Catholic bishops have voted to draft a statement on Holy Communion that may admonish Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, who support abortion rights. The 168–55 decision to draft a teaching document on the Eucharist came after two hours of debate at the virtual assembly of the […]
WelCom August 2021 Washington, Colorado and Oregon are now among the US states that have legalised the process of converting human bodies into soil, a procedure the Catholic Church says fails to show ‘respect for the body of the deceased’. Meanwhile, California and New York are seeking to be next in line to allow human […]
WelCom August 2021 A set of gold rosary beads carried by Mary Queen of Scots at her execution in 1587 was among items worth more than £1m stolen in a raid on Arundel Castle in May this year. The castle spokesman said the rosary had ‘little intrinsic value as metal’ but was ‘irreplaceable’. Professor Kate […]
WelCom August 2021 Looking ahead to a looming Synod of Bishops on the concept of ‘synodality’, a lay Venezuelan theologian says the time has come for bishops to grasp one key point: Lay people aren’t just called to implement decisions in the Church made by others, but to make those decisions themselves. Layman Rafael Luciani, […]
WelCom August 2021 Pope Francis will visit Scotland in November and is expected to attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. A spokesperson for the country’s bishops’ conference said most of the Pope’s time would be spent participating in the Climate Change conference. A ‘world leaders’ summit’ is scheduled to take place on […]