Pope Francis’ decision to convoke all the presidents of bishops’ conferences of the world to Rome, to talk about the abuse crisis, is unprecedented. As a response to the 2010 annus horribilis of the abuse crisis, Benedict XVI urged that all bishops’ conferences set guidelines to face the issue. Never, however, had [...]

The crisis that has emerged after the publication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony is not a new crisis within the Catholic Church. It is part of that same thread that started with the publication of the letters of the same Archbishop Viganò in 2012. This thread led to two Vatican [...]

The publication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony represented to many a breath of fresh air. The former nuncio to the United States courageously put pen to paper what everyone suspected: the presence of a lobby within the Church that aims to change her doctrine on homosexuality, as well as the presence [...]

Pope Francis has endeavored to tackle the most recent clergy sex abuse scandal with a letter addressed to the People of God. The Pope wrote it following the release of a 1,300-page plus report of a Pennsylvania Grand Jury. The Pope was straightforward, stressing the Church failed in tackling the abuse crisis, [...]

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said it loud in an Aug. 10 homily: there is “an anti-Christian persecutory regime,” even in Europe, acting in a subtle way. His warning must not be underestimated: it is part of a wider reflection, that is directly connected with the topic of discussion of the upcoming gathering of Ratzinger [...]

The sostituto (deputy) of the Vatican Secretariat of State will not be in the Papal party traveling to Ireland. This does not mean that Pope Francis is not carefully pondering candidates to replace Giovanni Angelo Becciu, created Cardinal and appointed to lead the Congregation for the Cause of Saints.

The sostituto plays a [...]

Perhaps, Pope Francis did not enjoy a real honeymoon with the media. Certainly, it has been said for years that media sympathy toward Pope Francis was great, and that this directly elevated the popularity of the Church.

The “Church of no”, it was said, turned into the “Church of yes” thanks to Pope [...]

From the case of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in the United States to that of the Chilean bishops, through the Honduran and Australian situations, the Church is apparently going to face a new “annus horribilis” on sex abuse by clergy, following 2010 – right during the Year for Priests proclaimed by Benedict [...]

The book on the genesis of Humanae Vitae by professor Gilfredo Marengo will disappoint many who were hoping it would support the notion that the teaching of the late Paul VI’s encyclical had been overcome, or at least become more relative.

Professor Marengo, dubbed to the be head of a commission to reinterpret Humanae [...]

The passing of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran can be considered the end of an era: that of the important Vatican diplomats, cultivated men of the Church with the skill of building bridges, that defined the Holy See for more than 30 years.

Cardinal Tauran was since 2007 president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, [...]