hand and heart

The recent post office troubles have impacted our regular fundraising efforts. Please consider supporting the Register and Catholic journalism by using one of the methods below:

  • Donate online
  • Donate by e-transfer to accounting@catholicregister.org
  • Donate by telephone: 416-934-3410 ext. 406 or toll-free 1-855-441-4077 ext. 406
New book claims Vatican close to financial ruin

New book claims Vatican close to financial ruin

VATICAN CITY -- An Italian author who was once tried and acquitted by a Vatican court for publishing leaked documents is claiming in a new book that decades of mismanagement, shady deals and decreasing donations will leave the Vatican no choice but to default.

The tower of the Institute for Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, is pictured in 2019.

Vatican documents detail suspicious investments at Secretariat of State

VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- A confidential report from the Vatican’s anti-corruption authority shows that the Secretariat of State has used about $725 million, most of which came from the pope’s charity fund, in off-books operations.

Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, relator general of the synod, and other participants in the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon celebrate Mass in the Catacombs of Domitilla in Rome Oct. 20, 2019. Several dozen synod participants at the Mass signed a pact promising to care for people and the earth and to give up a "colonist mentality and posture."

Synod members sign 'Pact of the Catacombs'

ROME -- More than a half century after a group of bishops at the Second Vatican Council made a solemn pledge to live a simple lifestyle close to their people, a group of participants from the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon signed a new pact in the Catacombs of Domitilla.

God's Word on Sunday: We all stand in need of God’s mercy

God's Word on Sunday: We all stand in need of God’s mercy

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 27 (Year C) Sirach 35:15-17, 20-22; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

Life can seem very unfair and unjust at times.

Capuchin Sister Daniela Cannavina (third from left), secretary general of the Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean Religious, told reporters in Rome Oct. 18, 2019, that the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon marks "a prophetic hour for religious life." She was one of 10 religious sisters elected as observers at the synod by the International Union of Superiors General.

Women's role in Amazon church does not depend on diaconate, sisters say

VATICAN CITY -- Whether or not the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon helps open the door to ordaining women deacons, women will continue to play a fundamental role in ministry in the church in the region, religious sisters said.

Members, observers and experts at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon meet in a small working group Oct. 10, 2019, in the Vatican synod hall. The small group reports, released Oct. 18, pledged the church's support for the rights of indigenous people and a renewed commitment to safeguarding creation. Some groups also proposed the ordination of some married men to the priesthood and the development of official ministries for women in the church, possibly including the diaconate.

Synod groups propose Amazonian rite, new ministries for women

VATICAN CITY -- Creating an Amazonian-rite liturgy and new ministries for laypeople, including the ordination of women deacons, are some of the recurring proposals made by small groups at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.

People near San Jose, Bolivia, march to defend Mother Earth Sept. 27, 2019.

Bishop calls for 'preferential option for the Amazon'

VATICAN CITY -- As tropical forests fall victim to loggers, miners and ranchers, the Catholic Church must take sides to defend the Amazon region and its people, said a bishop whose Bolivian diocese has been ravaged by fire this year.

Sister Priscilla Soloman, a member of the Ojibway people and of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, Canada, and Alessandro Martire, a lawyer for the Lakota Sioux, participate in an indigenous prayer at the Jesuit General Curia in Rome Oct. 17, 2019. Both participated in a meeting of indigenous peoples from North America and South America that was a side event to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.

After meeting indigenous vow to stand with Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis and members of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon repeatedly vowed to support, defend and accompany the region's indigenous people.

Brazilian scientist Carlos Afonso Nobre speaks at news briefing following a session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 9, 2019.

Synod development proposals raise questions about indigenous rights

VATICAN CITY -- Proposals for Amazonian development made by well-known observers at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon could conflict with the expectations of indigenous people unless they are included in decision-making, some synod participants said.

Father Justino Sarmento Rezende, an expert in indigenous spirituality from Brazil, speaks at a news conference to discuss the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 17, 2019.

Celibacy is a gift, not an obstacle, indigenous priest says

VATICAN CITY -- While indigenous cultures may have difficulty accepting the concept of celibacy, indigenous candidates for the priesthood are more than capable of understanding that it is a gift from God, said an indigenous priest from Brazil.

Rodney Bordeaux, president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Rita Means, tribal council representative of the same tribe, and Sister Priscilla Solomon, a member of the Ojibway people and of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, attend a news conference with a delegation of indigenous leaders from North America in Rome Oct. 17, 2019. Members of the delegation spoke about their own challenges and connections to indigenous people from South America who are meeting at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.

North American indigenous support Amazonian indigenous at synod

ROME -- As the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon heard pleas to defend the rights of the region's indigenous people and of the land they hold sacred, indigenous leaders from Canada and the United States came to Rome to support them.

Page 86 of 378