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September 8, 2015

Pope simplifies annulment process, asks that it be free of charge

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, gestures at a press conference for the release of Pope Francis' documents concerning changes to marriage annulments at the Vatican Sept. 8. Pope Francis approved rewriting sections of the Latin-rite Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches to make the annulment process quicker, less expensive and more pastoral.

VATICAN CITY - While a juridical process is necessary for making accurate judgments, the Catholic Church’s marriage annulment process must be quicker, cheaper and much more of a pastoral ministry, Pope Francis said.

Published in Vatican
September 6, 2015

‘Forgive’ divorce, canon lawyer urges

Bishops at the upcoming Synod on the Family need to find a way to welcome remarried and divorced Catholics back into the communion line, argues a prominent Canadian canon lawyer.

Bishops who attend the Synod on the Family in Rome next month should find a way for divorced and remarried Catholics to be forgiven and allowed back into the communion line, urges one of the most senior and respected canon lawyers in Canada.

Published in Canada
April 30, 2015

Getting it right

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., who was convicted in 2012 on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse. Bishop Finn is pictured in a 2014 photo at the Vatican.

Early in his papacy Pope Francis committed to continuing the work of Pope Benedict XVI to impose a zero-tolerance policy for abuser priests and see-no-evil bishops. So it was more than symbolic in late April when a Kansas City bishop was forced into retirement following a criminal conviction of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Published in Editorial
April 21, 2015

Pope accepts resignation of Bishop Finn

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., who was convicted in 2012 on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse. Bishop Finn is pictured in a 2014 photo at the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, who was convicted in 2012 on one misdemeanour count of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Published in Vatican
March 31, 2015

Pope names Cardinal Versaldi new prefect of education congregation

Pope Francis talks with Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi as they leave the concluding session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 18.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis named 71-year-old Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See since 2011, to be the new prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Published in Vatican
March 3, 2015

U.S. priest to Irish safeguarding meeting: Church not haven for abusers

Top priest psychologist Msgr. Stephen Rossetti told hundreds of Irish delegates that in the United States, child abuse rates are dropping throughout society and the church. He also said that the Catholic Church is no longer a safe haven for child abusers. Rossetti spoke at the first national conference on safeguarding children in Ireland Feb. 27-28.

ATHLONE, Ireland - The Catholic Church is "no longer a safe haven for child abusers," said a top priest psychologist who advises the U.S. bishops on child sexual abuse.

Published in International
February 28, 2015

Scattering ashes not the reverent way to treat remains

In the Vancouver area the practice of illegally scattering cremated remains in public places is on the rise.

Scattering the ashes of the recently departed is a rising trend in Vancouver despite the practice breaking both civil and Canon Law.

Published in Canada
January 29, 2015

Feed my sheep: Archbishops to receive palliums at home with their flock

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford, Conn., center, and other new archbishops wear palliums received from Pope Francis during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in this June 29, 2014, file photo. Bestowal ceremonies will henceforth take pl ace in local archdioceses.

VATICAN CITY - When Pope Francis celebrates the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in June, he will set aside an element that has been part of the Mass for the past 32 years; the Vatican confirmed he will not confer the pallium on new archbishops during the liturgy.

Published in International
July 25, 2014

Vatican revising canon law on abuse penalties

Vatican revising canon law on abuse penalties

VATICAN CITY - Church law has procedures and penalties for effectively dealing with allegations of clerical sexual abuse, but the Vatican is working to revise a section of the Code of Canon Law to make those norms and procedures clearer and, therefore, more effective, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

Published in Vatican
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