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May 10, 2019

Pope: Without Holy Spirit, dioceses can become worldly businesses

Pope Francis gestures as he addresses more than 1,000 diocesan leaders, both clergy and laity, May 9, 2019, at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. Seated next to the pope is Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, vicar of Rome.

VATICAN CITY - A diocese that cares more about being an organized workplace rather than announcing the good news can fall prey to clericalism and distance itself from Christ, Pope Francis said.

Published in Vatican
March 4, 2019

Mount Cashel opened eyes to world of abuse

The Orphan Boys at Mount Cashel, St. Johns, who sowed, reaped and threshed 600 bushels of oats this year at Mount Cashel. - Newfoundland Quarterly, p. 17 (1909)

As the Catholic Church comes to grips with an appalling past that saw thousands of children and vulnerable people exposed to abuse at the hands of clergy around the world, Canadians can only turn back the clock to remember when the scourge dominated the headlines at home.

Published in International
February 23, 2019

Fr. Thomas Rosica apologizes for plagiarism

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, English-language assistant to the Vatican press office, CEO of Canada's Salt and Light Media Foundation and contributor to The Catholic Register, speaks at a press briefing after the morning session of the Syond of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 12, 2015.
WASHINGTON – A long-time Vatican spokesman has admitted to passing off the writing of others as his own, and apologized for plagiarizing.
Published in Canada
February 22, 2019

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

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta attend a media briefing Feb. 22, 2019, the second day of the Vatican meeting on the protection of minors in the church.
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.
Published in International
February 21, 2019

Survivors expose 'cancer' of clerical sex abuse at summit

Prelates are seen during the opening session of the meeting on the protection of minors at the Vatican in this screen grab taken from video Feb. 21, 2019. Second from left is Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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.
Published in International
January 29, 2019

Marriage, priesthood requires fidelity and unity, Pope Francis says

Pope Francis poses for a photo Jan. 29, 2019, during a meeting with members of the Roman Rota, a Vatican tribunal handling mostly marriage cases.
VATICAN – Unity and fidelity are indispensable cornerstones of Christian marriage, Pope Francis said.
Published in Faith
January 24, 2019

Mideast patriarch: There is great need to unite efforts against extremism, terrorism

Members of the executive committee of the Middle East Council of Churches pose for a group photo during their Jan. 22-23 meeting in Atchaneh, Lebanon.
BEIRUT – At a gathering of Middle East leaders coinciding with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Syriac Orthodox patriarch emphasized the need to unify efforts against extremism and terrorism.
Published in International
January 17, 2019

Idea of having women deacons is for church 'crying for ministry', not 'power', speaker says

Dominican Sister Donna Ciangio, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., speaks during a symposium on the history and future of women deacons Jan. 15 at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus in New York City. The event was hosted by the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture.
NEW YORK – Ordaining women to the permanent diaconate now, when the church is "crying for ministry," is a logical way to fulfill its obligation to bring the Gospel to all people, according to panelists at a Jan 15 event at Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York.
Published in International
November 12, 2018

Bishops must be 'blameless' servants of God, not businessmen, Pope says

Pope Francis celebrates the Eucharist during morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican Nov. 12.
VATICAN – A bishop must be "blameless" and at the service of God, not of cliques, assets and power, especially if he is ever to "set right" what needs to be done for the church, Pope Francis said.
Published in Reflections
October 13, 2018

'Young people are tired of Pharisees, we need fathers,' synod observer says

Pope Francis and prelates pray at the start of a session of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment at the Vatican Oct. 11.
VATICAN  – The Catholic Church must be a place of justice and mercy, and its members must be catalysts for change, some young observers said at the Synod of Bishops Oct. 11.
Published in Faith
September 12, 2018

Shun clericalism, Pope tells new bishops

Pope Francis attends a meeting with new bishops from mission territories at the Vatican Sept. 8. The pope told them that the church needs bishops who promote unity, not "soloists singing their own tune or captains fighting personal battles."

VATICAN – The Catholic Church needs bishops who promote unity, “not soloists singing their own tune or captains fighting personal battles,” Pope Francis told new bishops from the Church’s mission territories.

Published in Faith
August 29, 2018

Francis Campbell: We can no longer hide from some ugly truths

Bishop Raymond Lahey of the Diocese of Antigonish arrives at a police station in Ottawa Oct.1, 2009. Lahey turned himself in to face charges of possession of and importing child pornography.

Groundhog Day is a 1993 movie featuring actor Bill Murray as a cynical television weatherman forced to live the same day over and over again.

Published in Guest Columnists
August 29, 2018

Glen Argan: Local Catholics must become watchdog

Pope Francis' meets with U.S. bishops in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Sept. 23, 2015.

The Roman Catholic Church today has nearly 3,000 dioceses and archdioceses, each with at least one bishop.

Published in Register Columnists
August 29, 2018

Ireland vocations have dwindled due to abuse scandal, Pope says

Pope Francis blesses a man from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo during his general audience in St. Peter's Square Aug. 29 at the Vatican.
VATICAN – While the faith of Catholics in Ireland is strong, the scandal of abuse and cover-up by church leaders has caused a decline in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, Pope Francis said.
Published in International
August 29, 2018

Editorial: It’s time for action

Pope Francis speaks to families during the Festival of Families in Croke Park stadium in Dublin Aug. 25.

“We showed no care for the little ones,” wrote Pope Francis. “We abandoned them.”

Published in Editorial
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