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

News/International

Pope Francis reviews papers during the third-day of a meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 23, 2019.

Vatican abuse summit ends, leaving some with clarity, some with disappointment

By
VATICAN – The long-awaited "Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church," nicknamed the abuse summit, was an extraordinary and historic gathering that surpassed many expectations while perhaps disappointing others.
Kids play among the refugee tents at Abrigo One in Boa Vista, Brazil, Feb. 18.

Listen to the 'cry of the people': Venezuelan bishops call for distribution of humanitarian aid

By
CARACAS, Venezuela – The Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference is calling on Nicolas Maduro’s government to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country and be peacefully distributed to people who are desperately in need of it.
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass attended by the heads of bishops' conferences from around the world on the last day of the four-day meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2019.

No more excuses; time for 'all-out battle' against crime of abuse, Pope Francis says

By
VATICAN – The time has come for an "all-out battle" against the abuse of minors, erasing this abominable crime from the face of the earth, Pope Francis said, closing a global four-day summit on child protection in the Catholic Church.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi and Pope attend the third day of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 22, 2019.

Concrete measures to help protect minors are imminent, summit moderator says

By
VATICAN – While the four-day Vatican summit on the protection of minors has ended, the work to ensure that laws and concrete actions are in place is just beginning, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi.
Pope Francis and the heads of bishops' conferences from around the world attend a Mass on the last day of the four-day meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2019.

Summit focuses on global nature of abuse crisis, need to put victims first

By
VATICAN – The clerical sexual abuse crisis has caused "serious scandal" in the Catholic Church and in society "because of the dramatic suffering of the victims, as well as the unjustifiable lack of attention to them" and attempts by church leaders to cover up the crimes of the guilty, Pope Francis said.
A girl at an informal refugee camp set up by Indigenous Venezuelans shows off her doll.

Millions of Venezuelan refugees are in the fight of their lives amidst social, political upheaval

By

BOA VISTA, Brazil – As soon as she fills another suitcase with food, Margaret Infante will join other refugees who cross back and forth at the border from Brazil to Venezuela to help feed starving family members.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich speaks at a briefing on the third day of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 23, 2019. Also pictured are Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, superior general of the Society of Jesus, and Nigerian Sister Veronica Openibo, congregational leader of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.

Lack of transparency harms church, justice, victims, Cardinal Marx says

By
VATICAN – Transparent, reliable and respectful administration is critical for counteracting sinful behavior within the Catholic Church, said German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising.
Nigerian Sister Veronica Openibo, congregational leader of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, attends the third day of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 23, 2019.

Church credibility ruined by silent hypocrisy, Nigerian sister tells summit

By
VATICAN – The hypocrisy of Catholic leaders who claimed to be guardians of morality yet remained silent about clerical sexual abuse has left the church's credibility in shambles, an African woman religious told bishops at the Vatican summit on abuse.
Pope Francis prays Feb. 22, 2019, the second day of the Vatican meeting on the protection of minors.

Vatican official urges reconsidering 'pontifical secret' in clerical abuse cases

By
VATICAN – The Catholic Church should re-examine how "pontifical secret" is applied in clerical sex abuse cases so there is greater transparency in the cases and it is not invoked "to hide problems," said a canon lawyer and Vatican official.
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.

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

By
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.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Colombia, attend the second day of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church, at the Vatican Feb. 22, 2019.

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

By
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.
Page 141 of 666