FREE access to the digital edition and archives until September 2. Click here. →
Browse › 2018 › September
September 18, 2018
The Church must embrace reform and do whatever it takes to help victims of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked Catholics around the world, says Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith.
JERUSALEM – The U.S. budgetary cuts to humanitarian aid institutions helping Palestinians could lead to long-term disastrous consequences, said Catholic aid workers in the region.
EDMONTON – Frank “Bushy” Stegemeier is struggling.
VANCOUVER – A faith study program that has been around for decades has suddenly received new life.
VATICAN – The Synod of Bishops increasingly should be a structure for listening to the Catholic faithful, demonstrating a local bishop's concern for the entire church and a means of expressing all the bishops' unity with the pope, Pope Francis said.
OTTAWA – As the universal Church reels in crisis, Canada’s Catholic bishops are poised to approve a long-awaited document on sexual abuse.
Parishioners at St. Luke’s Parish in Thornhill, Ont., like Catholics around the world, have been wounded by the Church’s sexual abuse scandals. Now they’re ready to apply a little talk therapy to the wounds.
Before I became a Catholic 10 years ago I viewed the papacy as a monarchy, representing great strength and self-assurance.
How little it takes. How few people cross our borders before we allow narratives of fear to start taking hold of us.
September 19, 2018
VATICAN – The Vatican has announced that five more Canadians — a cardinal, two priests and two laity — have been selected to participate in the upcoming Synod of Bishops on youth.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German bishops' conference, admitted that mistakes were made in the German church's handling of sex abuse of minors and said he anticipates change in the church.
VATICAN – As revelations of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by clergy continue in Chile, an archbishop said that the church can no longer ignore the suffering of victims.
HONG KONG – The long-awaited Sino-Vatican agreement on the nomination of bishops is expected to be signed in September, reported several media outlets.
VATICAN – Bono, the lead singer of the Irish band U2, said he told Pope Francis that in Ireland "it looks as though the abusers are being more protected than the victims. And you could see the pain in his face."
September 20, 2018
It would seem the war over euthanasia is over, but the fight is not ending for Alex Schadenberg.
WASHINGTON – Pledging to "heal and protect with every bit of the strength God provides us," the U.S. bishops' Administrative Committee Sept. 19 outlined actions to address the abuse crisis, including approving the establishment of a third-party confidential reporting system for claims of any abuse by bishops.
VATICAN – While God's holy church is made up of sinners, it also has its share of hypocrites who love to cry "scandal" to point out the failings of others and make themselves appear pure, Pope Francis said at morning Mass.
New federal government rules to monitor euthanasia and assisted suicide are opaque and weak at a time when legally induced deaths are rising at alarming levels, warn several organizations.
VATICAN – Retired Pope Benedict XVI expressed his displeasure with the way a German cardinal publicly criticized his stepping down as pontiff, and he defended taking the title "pope emeritus."
WARSAW, Poland – The Polish archbishop tasked with overseeing Bosnia-Herzegovina's Medjugorje shrine has outlined plans for expansion, including more Masses in different languages and facilities for young pilgrims who flock to the site of the alleged Marian apparitions.