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February 2019

February 20

Making corrections without love is the devil's work, Pope tells pilgrims

February 20, 2019

VATICAN – Catholics should speak up when things go wrong in the church, but theirs must be constructive criticism delivered with love, Pope Francis said, otherwise the devil is at work.

Irish archbishop warns against sex abuse becoming 'political football'

February 20, 2019

DUBLIN – Ahead of a major Vatican summit on the protection of minors, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, has criticized Catholics who use the issue of clerical abuse to score points against people they disagree with in the church.

Survivors demand that Church leaders 'break the code of silence' at abuse summit

February 20, 2019

VATICAN – Abuse survivors and support groups were very clear about what they want the world's bishops, religious superiors, the pope and the Vatican to do to protect children and end clerical sexual abuse.

Citizens for Public Justice Lenten campaign puts carbon on hit list

February 20, 2019

As the federal government finds itself embroiled in battles with a number of provinces over its introduction of a price on carbon, Citizens for Public Justice wants to let it know there are many in the faith community that support government efforts dealing with climate change.

February 21

Vatican sex abuse summit opens with acknowledgment of evil committed

February 21, 2019

VATICAN – Opening the Vatican summit on child protection and the clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis said, "The holy people of God are watching and are awaiting from us not simple, predictable condemnations, but concrete and effective measures" to stop abuse.

Survivors expose 'cancer' of clerical sex abuse at summit

February 21, 2019

VATICAN – "Every time I refused to have sex with him, he would beat me," an abuse survivor from Africa told Pope Francis and bishops attending the Vatican summit on child protection and the abuse crisis.

Bishops must protect their flock from abuse at all costs, Archbishop Scicluna says

February 21, 2019

VATICAN – Catholics need to know that their leaders "mean business" when it comes to protecting minors from abuse, the Vatican's top abuse investigator told representatives of the world's bishops and religious orders.

Do not fear crisis, the Pope is leading us into uncharted territory, former head of Dominican says

February 21, 2019

QUEBEC CITY – The Catholic Church should not be afraid of crisis; through crisis, it will grow and spring new life, said Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe.

Haitian unrest hits Development and Peace partners

February 21, 2019

Two weeks of violent political unrest in Haiti is wreaking havoc with Development and Peace’s partner organizations.

Canada's new attorney general puts euthanasia expansion on ice

February 21, 2019

OTTAWA – Euthanasia opponents welcomed news that Canada’s new Attorney General David Lametti says the Liberal government has no plans to expand access to assisted suicide in the near future.

Storm erupts over hiring of pro-euthanasia doctor at Catholic hospital in Ottawa

February 21, 2019

OTTAWA – Despite granting privileges to a palliative care physician who supports Canada’s euthanasia law, the Catholic identity of Elisabeth Bruyère Hospital is not threatened, said Ottawa’s archbishop.

Winnipeg youth combats mental health stigma

February 21, 2019

Regina Contreras was in her second year at Red River College in Winnipeg when she found herself talking with a friend last summer about their struggles with anxiety and depression.

Speaking Out: Homilies that attract youth

February 21, 2019

It’s no secret that the Catholic Church is not a “young kids’ game.”

Editorial: A sound decision

February 21, 2019

As the saying goes, no news is good news.

Clericalism, abuse of power, at heart of sex abuse crisis, Colombian cardinal says

February 21, 2019

VATICAN – The abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is a call for bishops to unmask the deep-seated clericalism that placed protection of the institution of the church above the sufferings of victims, said the head of the council of Latin American bishops.

French bishops urge mobilization against increasing anti-Semitism

February 21, 2019

PARIS – The French bishops' conference has condemned rising anti-Semitism in the country, as official data showed a massive increase of attacks, prompting new government measures.

February 22

Cardinal Gracias asks clerics to cultivate 'culture of fraternal correction'

February 22, 2019

VATICAN – Only together, by humbly sharing their experiences, encouragement and corrective advice, can the bishops and leaders in the Catholic Church work to prevent the abuse of minors and help bring healing to survivors, said the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.

Church needs new structure to ensure bishops' accountability, Cardinal Cupich says

February 22, 2019

VATICAN – The Catholic Church needs "new legal structures of accountability" for bishops accused of sexual abuse or of negligence in handling abuse allegations, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago told the Vatican summit on safeguarding.

Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: Sex abuse summit is catch-up time for much of the world

February 22, 2019

It is déjà vu all over again for Canadian bishops who travelled to Rome for the Vatican’s meeting on the protection of minors in the Church.

Harming a child must be 'line in the sand' for removal, Cardinal O'Malley says

February 22, 2019

VATICAN – For the Catholic Church, there is a "line in the sand," which can never be crossed, and that is to not allow anyone who harms or would harm a child to exercise public ministry, said Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston.