Most Popular News Within Last 30 Days
Vatican cautions against Marian title: ‘Co-Redemptrix’
In a document released on November 4, the Vatican discourages referring to the Virgin Mary as “Co-Redemptrix,” explaining that the title can convey an inaccurate understanding of...
Morocco cardinal: ‘We must abandon the false paradigm of true religion, false religion’
In a reflection for the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, said that “we must abandon the false paradigm of ‘true religion, false religion.’”“Religions, for their part, have the responsibility to offer paths of meaning and truth, not of domination,” said Spanish-born Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, SDB. “No religion can appropriate the truth, as if it were its sole owner. No one possesses the truth; if anything, it is the truth that possesses us all, and in every religion there are glimmers of truth.”
The prelate also called for “conditions that allow everyone to live in religious freedom and to find answers to the questions that arise in religions.” (The US State Department has documented restrictions on religious freedom in Morocco, including prison terms for the crime of “undermining the Islamic religion.”)
Pope Leo outlines his vision for John Paul II Institute
In a lengthy address that the Vatican has not yet published in English, Pope Leo XIV outlined his vision for the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences,...Vatican will issue document on Virgin Mary’s titles next week
On November 4, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will release a document on the titles of the Virgin Mary, the Vatican has announced.The document, entitled Mater Populi Fides, will focus particularly on the Virgin’s “cooperation in the work of salvation.” It is likely to address debate over the use of the title “Co-Redemptrix.”
USCCB publishes new edition of Ethical and Religious Directives for health care
The United States Conference of Catholics has published the seventh edition of its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.The publication follows a vote by the US bishops, at their November meeting, to bar gender-altering treatment at Catholic hospitals.
Pope will allow bishops to extend permission for traditional liturgy
The apostolic nuncio in Great Britain has told bishops that there Pope Leo XIV will grant diocesan bishops’ requests to extend permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia told the English bishops that the Pontiff does not plan to revoke Traditionis Custodes, the document by which Pope Francis limited the use of the traditional liturgy. However, the nuncio said, bishops could ask for and receive a two-year exemption from the ban.
The Dicastery for Divine Worship, which was given the authority to regulate the traditional liturgy, had been reluctant to approve exemptions. Since Pope Leo came to office, at least two American dioceses have received exemptions.
Salesforce signs pontifical academy’s ‘Rome Call for AI Ethics’
Sabastian Niles, the president of the US software company Salesforce, signed the Rome Call for AI Ethics, an initiative promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life (though not an official text of the academy).The document was first signed by leaders of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Microsoft, IBM, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in 2020; it has since garnered support from other religious and technology company leaders.
Background: World Day of the Poor
On November 16, the Sunday before the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Church commemorates the 9th World Day of the Poor. The theme of the Pope Leo’s message for the day, released on the...Vatican tribunal rules against listing ‘credibly accused’ priests
The Vatican’s top canonical court has reportedly ruled that the release of lists of priests who have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse can be a violation of the priests’ rights.According to a report in the Italian daily La Repubblica, the Roman Rota ruled in favor of an American priest who sued a religious order for publishing his name on a list of “credibly accused” priests. Such a decision, which could be subject to appeal, could challenge to policies of the many dioceses and religious orders that have released “credibly accused” lists.
The Vatican has not confirmed the report of the Roman Rota’s decision. The case reportedly was brought by a priest who said that the listing of his name damaged his reputation without providing him an opportunity to defend his good name.
Last September, the Vatican Dicastery for Legislative Texts issued a caution on the release of “credibly accused” lists, emphasizing the right of those accused to the presumption of innocence. The dicastery acknowledged that a listing could be justified in order “to avoid any danger or threat to individuals or to the community,” but argued forcefully against posting such lists “for alleged reasons of transparency.”
Vatican diplomat rues withdrawals from land mine treaty
Addressing a UN discussion on conventional weapons, a Vatican diplomat rued the decision of several nations to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty against land mines.“These weapons inflict indiscriminate and enduring harm on individuals, communities and the environment, leaving a deadly legacy long after conflicts have ended,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “The fact that they can be inadvertently activated by anyone, especially innocent civilians, makes them incompatible with the principles of humanity and international law.”
Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland have announced their decisions to withdraw from the 1999 treaty; Russia, like the US, China, and India, never signed the treaty.
Archbishop Caccia also criticized rising military expenditures and supported a draft treaty that would prohibit lethal autonomous weapon systems (“killer robots”).
