Killed for fighting corruption: How a Congolese man made a martyr is inspiring a new generation
JUSTIN KABUMBA, of Associated Press, reports on how the life of Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kosit – recently designated a martyr in a step towards Catholic sainthood – is inspiring others in the central African nation…
Pope Francis baptises 21 babies in annual ceremony at the Sistine Chapel
Vatican City AP Pope Francis baptised 21 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday under the ceiling frescoed by Michelangelo, in what has become an annual tradition that marks the end of the Christmas holiday period at the Vatican. Francis celebrated the Lord’s gift of faith to the children, stressing they were the protagonists of […]
Pope Francis heads for Luxembourg and Belgium on a trip to a dwindling flock
Vatican City AP Pope Francis is traveling to once-strong bastions of Christianity in the heart of Europe to try to reinvigorate a Catholic flock that is dwindling in the face of secular trends and abuse scandals that have largely emptied the continent’s magnificent cathedrals and village churches. Francis stops first Thursday in Luxembourg, the European Union’s second-smallest country, […]
Papal official rejects new claims in ‘Vatican Girl’ mystery
Rome, Italy AP The Vatican pushed back hard Friday at “slanderous” insinuations against St John Paul II that were aired following the reopening of an investigation into the 1983 disappearance of the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee. The kerfuffle erupted after Emanuela Orlandi’s brother, Pietro, spent eight hours meeting Tuesday with Vatican prosecutors, who earlier […]
Poland marches defend John Paul II from abuse cover-up claim
Warsaw, Poland AP Thousands of Poles joined marches Sunday in defence of the late pope, St John Paul II, following a TV documentary that alleged he covered up child sex abuse involving clergy in his native Poland before his election as pontiff. The marches took place in Warsaw and other cities on the 18th anniversary of John […]
Polish church defends John Paul sainthood after abuse claims
Warsaw, Poland AP The leaders of Poland’s Catholic Church on Tuesday defended the late John Paul II’s sainthood and fast-track canonization process in response to a Polish TV report alleging that he covered up clergy sex abuses while archbishop in Poland. The Polish Church figures also said that a commission of experts in various fields […]
John Paul abuse claims trigger angry reactions in Poland
Warsaw, Poland AP Fallout from a TV report alleging that St John Paul II covered up clergy sex abuse cases escalated Thursday, with Poland’s Catholic Church and lawmakers defending him as one of the greatest Poles ever and the government “inviting” the US ambassador for talks. A report this week on TVN24, which is owned […]
Polish PM defends John Paul II after report he knew of abuse
Warsaw, Poland AP Poland’s Prime Minister on Wednesday stepped in to defend the good name of St John Paul II, a “great fellow-countryman”, following claims that he knew of sex abuse of minors by priests under his authority while archbishop in Poland and sought to conceal it. The report aired this week on TVN24 struck at a […]
Polish TV report: John Paul II knew of abuse as archbishop
Warsaw, Poland AP St John Paul II knew about sexual abuse of children by priests under his authority and sought to conceal it when he was an archbishop in his native Poland, a television news report has alleged. In a story that aired late Monday, Polish channel TVN24 named three priests whom the future pope then […]
Pope, opening Kazakh visit, blasts “senseless” Ukraine war
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan AP Pope Francis begged for an end to Russia’s “senseless and tragic war” in Ukraine as he arrived Tuesday in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan to join faith leaders from around the world in praying for peace. Francis flew to the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan to meet with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for […]