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Harrisburg, Pa., Feb 19, 2020 / 05:30 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania announced Wednesday that it is filing for bankruptcy. A landslide of clergy abuse lawsuits have been filed against the diocese after a watershed Pennsylvania grand jury report on clerical sexual abuse was released in August 2018 and a change to state law allowed new litigation on old cases. “This decision was made after countless hours of prayer and careful deliberation with our financial experts, attorneys, and our Diocesan Consultative Bodies,” Bishop Ronald W. Gainer said in an announcement on the diocese’s website. “Despite the success of the Survivor Compensation Program, which helped 111 survivors of clergy child sexual abuse, or 96% of those who participated in the program, we already a...

Vatican City, Feb 19, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Wednesday that a meek Christian is not weak, but defends his faith and controls his temper. “The meek person is not accommodating, but is a disciple of Christ who has learned to defend another land well. He defends his peace, defends his relationship with God, and defends his gifts, preserving mercy, fraternity, trust, and hope,” Pope Francis said Feb. 19 in Paul VI Hall. The pope reflected on the third beatitude from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” “Meekness manifests itself in moments of conflict, you can see how you react to a hostile situation. Anyone might seem meek when everything is calm, but how does he react ‘under pressure’ if he is attacked, offended, assaulted?...

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2020 / 09:06 am (CNA).- Vatican authorities have seized documents and computers belonging to a senior curial official as part of an investigation into financial misconduct, the Holy See announced on Tuesday. In a statement issued Feb. 18, the Vatican press office confirmed that investigators had raided the office and home of Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, the former head of the administrative office at the First Section of the Secretariat of State. The raid is part of an ongoing investigation into financial misconduct by officials at the secretariat. “This morning, as part of a search ordered by the Promoter of Justice, Gian Piero Milano, and the deputy, Alessandro Diddi, documents and computer equipment were seized at the office and home of Msgr. Alberto Perlasca,” the Vati...

Vatican City, Feb 17, 2020 / 05:09 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has requested that priests in formation for the Holy See’s diplomatic service be required to spend one year in missionary work, the Vatican announced Monday. The pope has asked the change to go into effect for the 2020/2021 academic year. He called for the curriculum update in a letter to the president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, Bishop Joseph Marino. In order to face “growing challenges for the Church and for the world, future diplomats of the Holy See must acquire, in addition to solid priestly and pastoral formation, and the specific one offered by this Academy, also a personal mission experience outside their own Diocese of origin,” Francis wrote. It is an opportunity for the priests to share “with the missionary ...

Vatican City, Feb 16, 2020 / 06:26 am (CNA).- God gives the grace both to follow his law exteriorly and to accept it in one’s heart, which is what gives true freedom from passion and sin, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address Sunday. “Let’s not forget this: living the Law as an instrument of freedom, which helps me to be freer, which helps me not to be a slave to passions and sin,” the pope said Feb. 16. In his catechesis before the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis spoke about the difference between “formal compliance” and “substantive compliance” with the law, which is to accept the law also in one’s “the center of the intentions, decisions, words, and gestures of each of us.” “Good and bad deeds,” he said, “start from the heart.” The pope explained that “by accepting the Law of God in you...

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2020 / 05:24 am (CNA).- As the Holy See awaits the results of a scheduled financial inspection, Pope Francis spoke about ongoing financial reform and investigations at the opening of the judicial year of the Vatican City State’s court, which he attended for the first time. He said Feb. 15 the Holy See is trying to conform to international law and has put in place processes to combat “illegality in the international finance sector.” To do this, the Vatican has put in place internal surveillance and intervention systems, which “have recently brought to light suspicious financial situations,” he stated. Situations, which, he continued, “beyond any possible illegality, are difficult to reconcile with the nature and purposes of the Church, and which have generated disorien...

A date has been set for the final appeal of disgraced cardinal George Pell, who remains behind bars for historical child sex abuse offences committed in the 1990s. The High Court has listed a two-day hearing before the full bench on March 11 and 12. In the video above, George Pell’s request for special leave to the High Court explained Lawyers for Pell, 78, sought special leave to the High Court late last year, after Australia’s most senior Catholic was convicted on five charges relating to the sexual assault of two choirboys in St Patrick’s Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996. He is serving a six-year jail term with a non-parole period of three years and eight months. Cardinal George Pell leaves the Supreme Court of Victoria in June 2019, during the hearing of his appea...

Vatican City, Feb 13, 2020 / 10:33 am (CNA).- In a newly published book, Pope Francis answers questions about himself and St. John Paul II, saying he learned the importance of joy and mercy from his predecessor, and they are in “total harmony” on the subject of priestly ministry. “I think that joy is the most important characteristic of the encounter with the risen Jesus,” Pope Francis said, noting the joy and mercy of John Paul II’s pontificate, “I learned from him.” Pope Francis’ thoughts on his predecessor and other topics are recorded in the Italian-language book “St. John Paul the Great,” published Feb. 11 and co-authored with Fr. Luigi Maria Epicoco. The book is divided into five chapters, each with information on an aspect or period of the life of John Paul II, written by Epicoco. T...

ABOVE: Pope Francis, with Master of Ceremonies Msgr. Guido Marini at his side, offers Mass Feb. 1, 2020, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican [Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images]. BELOW: See photo captions and credits at end of article. In ‘Querida Amazonia,’ Pope Francis Lays Out a Vision for the Future of the Amazon The post-synodal apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia sets forth the Holy Father’s ‘Four Dreams’ for the region, but steers clear of endorsing married priests or women deacons. VATICAN CITY — Through “four great dreams” for a better ecological, social, cultural and ecclesial future, Pope Francis says he wishes his new post-synodal apostolic exhortation will “awaken” the world’s “affection and concern” for the Amazon region — and help other areas of the world to confront ...

Washington D.C., Feb 10, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Pro-life Democrats responded on Monday to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ suggestion that there is no room in the party for pro-lifers. “It’s a disturbing time in America,” Louisiana state senator Katrina Jackson (D) told CNA, “when the party that’s supposed to be the big tent party, that has always had differing views not only on abortion but also on other issues, begins to have candidates that try to close off the party to those with diverse views.” “Across our country, there are pro-life people of all political persuasions and I don’t believe it makes sense for any party to try to exclude people because of their position on life,” Rep. Colin Peterson (D-Minn.) said to CNA on Monday. Democratic presidential candidat...

“Jesus invites us not to be afraid to live in the world, even if sometimes there are conditions of conflict and sin in it,” said Pope Francis. “Jesus at the last supper did not ask the Father to remove the disciples from the world, but to keep them from the spirit of the evil one.” Through people trafficking, “criminal organisations are increasingly using modern means of communication to entice victims through deception.” For Syria, the pontiff calls for “talks and negotiations, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to safeguard the lives and welfare of civilians.” Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In his Angelus address today, Pope Francis urged Christians to live the “presence and testimony” as “salt” and “light” in the world. “J...

Washington D.C., Feb 8, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- Several state-level pro-life measures cleared legislative hurdles this week. Lawmakers have considered several of the proposals before, and already a number of the proposals have advanced further than they did last year. A bill that would temporarily revoke a doctor’s license for performing an abortion has advanced in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and will proceed to the Senate. HB 1182 passed the Oklahoma house Feb. 6 by a vote of 71-21. The bill would revoke a physician’s medical license for a minimum of six months and would also provide for a minimum fine of $500. An amendment added to the bill before the vote provides an exception for a case of an abortion being necessary “to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a...