Catholic Register Editorial

It has been a year of shame and humiliation for the Church. The clerical abuse scandals have scarred thousands of victims and mortified the faithful worldwide. They have also spurred appeals for repentance and renewal, appeals that are appropriate at Easter.

Vaccinating young children against a wide range of diseases is a medical and moral imperative, and a smart practice parents should embrace.

A recent cover of The Catholic Register featured a heartbreaking picture of a tearful woman in a hijab being comforted in the wake of the New Zealand mosque attacks.

It turns out that banning assault weapons doesn’t have to be so difficult after all. All it takes is courage, resolve, leadership — and a touch of common sense.

Separate terrorist attacks in the past five months have killed 80 people as they worshipped in New Zealand mosques, an American synagogue and a Philippines cathedral. These are just three among hundreds of attacks on worshippers over the past decade. 

One of the most contentious debates involving Church figures of the 20th century involves the actions of Pope Pius XII during World War II. 

The immediate reaction to the mid-February news that Australian Cardinal George Pell was found guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choir boys was that, in addition to any sentence the courts pronounce, the Vatican should move quickly to expel him from the priesthood.

The remarkable summit on sex abuse has ended but its work is far from done.

As the saying goes, no news is good news.

The much-anticipated Vatican summit on clerical sexual abuse of minors is still days away but perhaps the strongest declaration to be expected from this unprecedented gathering of bishops has already been made.