International News

VATICAN – A bishop from Argentina who had been working in the Vatican's real estate administration office is the object of a preliminary diocesan investigation after accusations came to light of sexual abuse, abuse of power and mismanagement in his former Diocese of Oran.

MANILA, Philippines – A former head of the Philippines' Catholic bishop's conference, has called on people to ignore President Rodrigo Duterte's repeated rants against the church.

VATICAN CITY – The clerical abuse crisis and the "crisis of credibility" it created for the U.S. bishops have led to serious divisions within the U.S. Catholic Church and to a temptation to look for administrative solutions to problems that go much deeper, Pope Francis told the U.S. bishops.

COCHIN, India – Ouseph Pappachan, a physically challenged farmer in flood-ravaged Kerala, said he and his wife are alive now because of Sister Regin Mathew.

VATICAN – The surprising news in November that the Vatican had asked U.S. bishops not to vote on several proposals for responding to the sexual abuse crisis was motivated by a lack of time given the Vatican to study the proposals and potential conflicts with church law, according to a letter obtained by the Associated Press.

VATICAN – The end of one year and beginning of next naturally leads people to think about the passing of time and about love, which gives time -- and everything else -- real meaning, Pope Francis said.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Managua Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Jose Baez reiterated his calls for dialogue and respecting human dignity in Nicaragua, where the president has crushed protests, closed critical media outlets and persecuted anyone – including priests – publicly opposing his administration.

WASHINGTON – James Grein, a Virginia man who said Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, sexually abused him for years beginning when he was 11, gave his testimony about what occurred Dec. 27 before a judicial vicar for the New York Archdiocese.

Eight-hundred years before Christ the prophet Micah was sure the world was mad: “Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a loved one; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace,” Micah warned. 

WASHINGTON – A Michigan priest criticized for emphasizing suicide in his homily during a recent funeral for an 18-year-old who took his own life has since apologized.