Verdicts in big Vatican corruption trial due on Saturday
Vatican City Reuters Defence lawyers at the Vatican’s big corruption trial, in which one of the 10 defendants is a cardinal, completed their summing up on Tuesday and the court president announced that the verdicts would be announced on Saturday. A Vatican trial of 10 people accused of financial crimes, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, resumes after a chief […]
Nicaragua freezes bank accounts of top university led by Jesuits – source
Reuters Nicaraguan authorities froze the bank accounts of the country’s top private university, a source from the institution told Reuters, marking the latest move against a Catholic-led institution in an ongoing crackdown by the government. The Jesuit-run Central American University (UCA) is the alma mater of many youth leaders who protested the government of President […]
Alberta, Victoria withdrawals “devastating blow” for Commonwealth Games
Reuters The 2030 Commonwealth Games were tipped to be a glorious celebration of the competition’s centenary in Canada, the country which hosted the inaugural edition of the multi-sport quadrennial event a century ago. But the future of the Games was thrown into doubt on Thursday when the province of Alberta withdrew its support for a […]
Bitter infighting threatens Kenya’s Methodist Church
Nairobi, Kenya RNS Disagreements within the Methodist Church in Kenya are threatening to tear apart the denomination, with some senior clergy seeking to form independent regional conferences. At the centre of a controversy that has been unfolding since 2015 is Presiding Bishop Joseph Ntombura. The church’s senior clergy accuse the leader of mishandling the church’s […]
Who will pay for the SBC’s abuse reforms over the long term? No-one knows
United States RNS After years of delay, Southern Baptists passed a series of reforms in 2022 aimed at addressing abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Those reforms included setting up a “Ministry Check” database to track abusive pastors and training churches on how to prevent abuse and to care for abuse survivors. The plan […]
Ukraine sells last batch of bracelets made from Azovstal steel
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters The last batch of bracelets made from metal produced by the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s invasion, have gone on sale across Ukraine. Proceeds from the bracelets, which are on sale for around $US40, will go to an organisation helping finance the procurement and maintenance […]
Table Talk: How to bust your food budget (in a good way!)
EMMA WATSON on some tips – spiritual and practical – when finances tighten and an inexpensive family meal…
Vatican economy tsar: “The Pope’s mission is underfunded”
Vatican City RNS The Catholic Church’s financial chief warned in an interview on Friday that “a very uncertain period lies ahead” for the Vatican’s financial health, even as he reported significant progress in reducing the church’s budget deficit. Rev Juan Antonio Guerrero, prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, said that Pope Francis’ reforms […]
Testimony: Pope approved Vatican payout for London property
Vatican City AP Pope Francis allegedly authorised negotiating an exit strategy for a key figure in the Vatican’s bungled London real estate investment and was so satisfied with the outcome that he paid for a celebratory dinner at a fancy Roman fish restaurant the night €15 million payout closed, a defendant in the Vatican’s extortion […]
Vatican cardinal says donations went to charity, not brother
Vatican City AP A once-powerful cardinal testified Thursday that he donated €125,000 of Vatican money to a Sardinian diocese for purely charitable reasons, rejecting Vatican prosecutors’ claims that the money benefitted his brother who ran the charity. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first-ever cardinal to testify before the Vatican’s criminal tribunal, said he couldn’t deny that […]