Portal:Catholic Church/News/Archive

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2021[edit]

29 November - Holy See–Russia relations
- Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue began a six-day journey to Russia on November 23. Guixot met with Orthodox, Muslim, civil leaders. The parties discussed religious liberty and other human rights of minorities. (Catholic World News)
16 November - According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, nearly 1,000 hate crimes against Europe’s Christians were recorded in 2020. The organization documented 980 incidents against Christians, including arson attacks on Catholic churches, desecration and robbery of Eucharistic hosts, assaults on priests, and anti-Catholic graffiti on Church property by abortion activists. (Catholic News Agency)
11 November - Internal conflict in Myanmar
- The Catholic cathedral Sacred Heart at Pekon in the Diocese of Pekhon in Burma’s Shan state was among several structures that were reportedly hit by military artillery fire on Nov. 9 amid continuing armed clashes between government and rebel forces. (Catholic News Agency), (Fides)
8 November - Holy See–Switzerland relations
- Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis meets with the State Secretary of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to mark 100 years of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the Holy See. The joint declaration, according to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, called for the promotion of “peace and human rights, the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, the protection of minorities, and interreligious dialogue.” (Swissinfo), (Catholic World News)
4 November - Pope Francis appoints Raffaella Petrini as the new secretary general of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the Roman Curia and the first woman to ever hold the position. (Vatican News)
1 November - Parishioners of Saint Ann’s Catholic Church, a predominantly African American congregation in the East Baltimore Midway neighborhood, Historic St. Francis Xavier, and St. Wenceslaus, seek to make the case that the church should immediately canonize six Black American Catholics. The candidates include Mother Mary Lange, a Baltimore nun who started and ran a school for Black children in the Fells Point area of the city during the era of slavery. (The Washington Post)
31 October - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Pope Francis in the Vatican. It is the first-ever meeting between the two leaders. Modi is in Rome for the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit, October 30-31, before he flies to Glasgow, Scotland, for the 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), October 31 to November 12. (Vatican News), (Asia News)
27 October - Pope Francis blesses two large bells headed to Ukraine and Ecuador. The bells are part of an initiative by the Polish Yes to Life foundation. They each weigh more than 2,000 pounds, are nearly four feet in diameter, and were cast by the Felczyński bell foundry in Przemyśl, Poland. (Catholic News Agency)
14 October - Chinese Catholic Bishop Stephen Yang Xiangtai, the retired leader of the Handan diocese, died at the age of 99 after a long illness. Bishop Yang was arrested in 1954 and again in 1966, and served more than a decade in labor camps before being released in 1980. He became Bishop of Handan in 1999. (Catholic World News), (Asia News)
11 October - Pope Francis opens the two-year Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This XVIth Synod of Bishops, ends in Rome in October 2023. In his opening address, Pope Francis presented three “key words”: communion, participation, and mission. (Catholic World News)
9 October - Mali War
- A Colombian Roman Catholic nun who had been kidnapped in Mali near the border with Burkina Faso in 2017 by the Macina Liberation Front is freed. The nun is photographed with Malian President Assimi Goïta as the government refuses to state if any ransom was paid for her release. (Reuters)
5 October - A court in the Holy See agrees to return to the investigative phase of an ongoing trial against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu for alleged embezzlement, abuse of power and fraud, and other charges. Becciu was fired from his position in the Vatican City by Pope Francis in 2020 for alleged nepotism, which Becciu also denies. (Reuters)
3 October - Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
- A commission to investigate sexual abuse by clergy in France reveals that since the 1950s, there have been about 3,000 pedophiles who have committed sex crimes. (France 24)
2 October - Sister Pietra Luana (Etra) Modica, a Scalabrinian Catholic nun, is the new Secretary General of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. The appointment was signed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and university Grand Chancellor. It is the first time since its founding in 1627 that this position has been assigned to a woman. (Fides)
27 September - LGBT rights in Poland
- Three regions in Poland repeal their status as an "LGBT-free zone" after pressure from the European Commission and activists. The declaration of "free of LGBT ideology" had been imposed in 2019 under heavy pressure from Catholic conservatives in the regions. (Reuters)
20 September - COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
- The Vatican City issues a decree that would require visitors who enter the city state to show an Italian Green Pass or its international immunity passport equivalent, providing proof that they have been vaccinated, tested negative in the previous 72 hours, or have recovered from COVID-19, beginning on October 1. (The Washington Post), (Catholic News Agency)
14 September - Continuing his apostolic journey, Pope Francis arrives in Slovakia, meeting with President Zuzana Čaputová who were joined by civil leaders, members of the diplomatic corps and religious leaders. After a meeting with the Jewish community, the Pope went to the apostolic nunciature, where he met with the Speaker of the National Council (parliament), Boris Kollár, and with Prime Minister Eduard Heger. (Catholic World News)
12 September - Pope Francis begins his four-day apostolic journey to Hungary and Slovakia, his 34th apostolic journey outside Italy during his eight-year pontificate. At Budapest Pope Francis met with President János Áder and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Pontiff then met with other Christian and Jewish leaders. Pope Francis celebrated the concluding Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress at Heroes’ Square in Budapest. (Catholic World News)
4 September - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
- Slovakia reverses its ban on unvaccinated people attending public events and will instead allow a negative test or proof of recovery from COVID-19 during a visit by Pope Francis on September 12 to 15 due to low vaccination numbers. (Barron's)
3 September - Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
- Defrocked Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick pleads not guilty to three counts of indecent assault and battery on a 16-year-old boy at a wedding reception in Massachusetts in 1974. The statute of limitations paused when he left the state shortly after the alleged incident. McCarrick is the first American cardinal to be charged with a sex crime. (DW)
1 September - China–Holy See relations
- Pope Francis defends the dialogue with China via the appointment of new Catholic bishops. Francis says that uneasy dialogue is better than no dialogue at all and compared the talks with China to those with Eastern European countries during the Cold War. The Vatican and China have had strained relations since the communist party took power in 1949. (Reuters)
26 August 2021 - Pope Francis appoints Italian nun Alessandra Smerilli as Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, becoming the first woman to do so. (Vatican News)
11 August 2021 - Pope Francis says that he is sorrowful at the news of the Aug. 9 murder of French priest Fr. Olivier Maire. Father Maire, 61, was the provincial superior of the Montfort Missionaries. His murder was announced by France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. (Catholic News Agency)
9 August 2021 - A barely legible letter to Pope Francis regarding the Vatican's financial scandals, which contained three bullets and is believed to have originated from France, is intercepted by postal workers in Peschiera Borromeo, near Milan. The letter is being treated by authorities as a possible death threat against Francis. (Newsweek via MSN) (Euronews)
27 July 2021 – The trial against Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu and ten others for financial crimes opens in the Holy See. Becciu and a monsignor are the only two to appear in court in person. Becciu denied any wrongdoing and the trial was adjourned. Pope Francis had previously stripped Becciu of his immunity and approved his indictment. Becciu's lawyers asked the court not to order the Cardinal's arrest. (Reuters)
21 July - On September 12, Pope Francis will visit Hungary as he celebrates the concluding Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress. He will then travel to Slovakia and return to Rome on September 15. (Catholic Culture) (Vatican News)
12 July 2021 – Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who championed human rights, freedom, and greater democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), died at the age of 81. (Catholic News Agency)
9 July 2021 – South Sudanese Civil War
- President Salva Kiir Mayardit promises peace on Independence Day and also offers peace to opponent Riek Machar. This offer of peace comes after Pope Francis said that he would visit the Christian-majority country if some kind of peace is achieved. (Reuters)
3 July 2021 – A court in the Holy See indicts ten people, including Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, on embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion and abuse of office. Pope Francis personally approved the indictments. (Reuters)
2 July 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic in Europe; COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bosnia and Herzegovina reports its first case of the Lineage B.1.617 Delta variant in a Spanish woman who visited the Catholic pilgrimage site of Medjugorje. (Reuters)
28 June 2021 – Allied Democratic Forces insurgency; 2021 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
- A suicide bomber blows himself up at a busy intersection in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo. No additional casualties are reported. This is the first suicide bombing in the country and comes a day after a bombing occurred at a Catholic church, seriously injuring two people. Authorities ban public gatherings for two days in response to the attacks, warning about the possibility of further incidents. The Islamic State's Central Africa Province claimed responsibility for both bombings. (AP)(USNews)
10 June 2021 – Pope Francis rejects the offer of resignation by Archbishop of Munich Reinhard Marx over what Marx described as mishandling of the "catastrophe" of sexual abuse in the Church. Francis addresses a letter to Marx where he agrees that it is a worldwide "catastrophe" but that Marx should stay on as Archbishop. Francis further stated that they cannot remain "indifferent in the face of the crime". Marx is seen as a progressive ally of Francis within the Church. (Reuters)
3 June 2021 – Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Tito Yllana as the new Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Cyprus, and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine. The 73-year-old Archbishop Yllana has represented the Holy See on four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. (Vatican News)
28 May 2021 – Kamloops Indian Residential School
- A mass grave containing the remains of 215 indigenous children is discovered on the site of the former residential school in British Columbia, Canada. (The Globe and Mail)
- Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver said he was “filled with deep sadness” after learning of the discovery of the children's remains that were found buried on the site. (CRUX)
26 May 2021 – Jan Graffius, the curator of the Stonyhurst Collections states that the theft of the gold rosary that Mary, Queen of Scots took to her execution is a “very tragic loss” for Catholic history. Thieves broke into Arundel Castle in West Sussex, southern England, stealing the rosary and other items worth more than $1.4 million. (Catholic News Agency)
21 May 2021 – One Catholic priest is killed and another kidnapped in an armed attack on the parish in Malunfashi, Sokoto State, in northern Nigeria. Several other people were wounded in the assault. (Fides)
16 May 2021 – Holy See–Myanmar relations
- Pope Francis condemns the violence and repression in Myanmar and again condemns the coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. He tells protesters to not despair "in the face of evil or allow themselves to be divided". (Reuters)
11 May 2021 – Pope Francis formally institutes the office of catechist as a ministry within the Church. With an apostolic letter entitled Antiquum Ministerium, released on May 11, the Pope establishes the lay ministry, and announces that the Vatican would soon publish a ritual for the commissioning of catechists. (Catholic World News), (Holy See Press Office)
7 May 2021 – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty files a lawsuit on behalf of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. The department refused to adjust a policy that prevents in-person clergy visits to correctional facilities. (Catholic News Agency)
30 April 2021 – A United States Federal court upholds a New Jersey Catholic school’s right to fire a teacher under the Ministerial Exception doctrine. The teacher was terminated from Saint Dominic Academy the day after she returned from a leave due to a motor vehicle accident. (Religion Cause), (Catholic World News)
28 April 2021 – Pope Francis accepts the resignations of Ecuadorian Bishop Julio Parrilla Díaz and Monsignor Gerardo Miguel Nieves Loja of the Diocese of Riobamba after reports of poor governance, financial mismanagement and moral failings. (AP)
26 April 2021 – Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, states that the Armenian genocide is a ‘stain’ of evil on all humanity. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the genocide. (Catholic News Agency)
22 April 2021 – Three of the seven Catholic clergy who were kidnapped in Croix-des-Bouquets, Ouest, Haiti, on April 11 are released. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
14 April 2021 – 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
- The government bans eleven Islamic organizations, including ISIL and al-Qaeda, a week before the second anniversary of the bombings after the country's Roman Catholics threatened massive protests over the government's perceived failure to act against the perpetrators. (Al Jazeera)
11 April 2021 – Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, are kidnapped in Croix-des-Bouquets, Ouest, Haiti. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
3 April 2021 – Pope Francis sends a video message to the Philippines to mark the 500 year anniversary of the first Mass on Philippine soil on Easter Sunday. (Catholic News Agency)
28 March 2021 – 2021 Makassar cathedral bombing
- Twenty people are wounded in a double suicide bombing outside the Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (CNA)
24 March 2021 – COVID-19 recession, COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
- Pope Francis issues a decree that cuts the 10% of the cardinals' and other officials' salaries in view of the fact that the Vatican foresees a financial deficit of 50 million euros this year. (BBC)
20 March 2021 – The Vatican announces that Pope Francis has designated the Archdiocese of Quito in Ecuador as the host of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress. (Catholic News Agency)
17 March 2021 – Internal conflict in Myanmar
- Nearly 200 civilians, mostly Catholics, are forced to flee their villages due to renewed fighting between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Myanmar’s conflict-stricken Kachin state. (UCA News)
17 March 2021 – Pope Francis expresses his concerns over the tense situation in Paraguay due to a deepening health and political crisis in the South American nation which have led to instances of violence in recent days. In his message, the Pope appeals for dialogue to prevail over violence. (Vatican News)
16 March 2021 – The Israel Antiquities Authority finds fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Cave of Horror, believed to be hidden during a Jewish revolt against Rome 1,900 years ago. In addition, a 10,500-year-old weaving basket made of woven flowers is also found. (Haaretz) (ABC Australia)
15 March 2021 – Catholic Church and gay marriage
- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican body responsible for promulgating Catholic doctrine, rules that priests cannot bless same-sex unions or marriages, calling any such blessing "not licit." (The New York Times), (Vatican Press Office)
15 March 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
- The Vatican Museums and the Palace of Castel Gandolfo's gardens closes for third time for the duration of the last lockdown decree of the Italian Government. (Vatican News)
12 March 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
- New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul receives a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at Catholic Health in Buffalo. (USA Today)
11 March 2021 – Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Leo Boccardi, until now apostolic nuncio in Iran, as apostolic nuncio in Japan. (Holy See Press Office)
9 March 2021 – Núria Calduch becomes the first female Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission named by Pope Francis. (Catalunya Religió)
5 March 2021 – Pastoral visits of Pope Francis
- Pope Francis lands in Baghdad in a historic first-ever Papal visit to Iraq. (Washington Post)
4 March 2021 – Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin, Italy announces that for the second time, the Shroud of Turin will be exposed for veneration on social media and websites on Holy Saturday, April 3. (Catholic News Agency)
22 February 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The Vatican Press Office announces that all journalists to accompany Pope Francis on his March trip to Iraq must receive a Covid vaccination. Certificates of vaccination are required for reporters seeking press credentials for the trip. (Catholic Culture)
15 February 2021 – Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh Diocese announces that four Catholic elementary schools are merging to form two schools for the school year beginning in fall 2021. The decision comes after more than a year’s deliberation and hours of study. (Catholic News Agency)
10 February 2021 – Three angel statues are vandalized at St. Pius X Catholic Parish El Paso, Texas. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the El Paso Diocese expresses sadness and says a police report is filed. (El Paso Times)
6 February 2021 – French religious sister Nathalie Becquart is named by Pope Francis one of the Undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops, becoming the first woman to reach that office and having a right to vote in the Synod. (CNN)
1 February 2021 – Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, visits Cameroon this week. He hopes peace and reconciliation can be found in the country, which is struggling amid an armed separatist movement in the Southwest and Northwest regions. (Catholic News Agency)
27 January 2021 – In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, 100 Hindu activists attack a prayer gathering in the Catholic media center. (UCA News)
21 January 2021 – A Vatican tribunal convicts two former executives of the Institute for Religious Works (the IOR, commonly known as the Vatican bank) on embezzlement and money-laundering charges. Angelo Caloia, who was president of the IOR from 1999 to 2009; and two lawyers who had acted as IOR consultants, were found guilty of arranging to profit from the sale of Vatican properties. (AP)
21 January 2021 – The Catholic Congregation for the Causes of Saints affirms the “heroic virtue” of Jérôme Lejeune, the French geneticist who found the cause of Down syndrome and became an advocate for the right to life of Down-syndrome babies. He is now eligible for beatification if a miracle is attributed to his intercession. The Congregation recognizes the martyrdom of Giovanni Fornasini, an Italian priest killed in 1944, and the heroic virtue of six additional candidates. (Vatican Press Office)
19 January 2021 – Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo issues statements on the deaths of a suspect and police officer, and the vandalism and arson at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio. (CNS)
14 January 2021 – Vatican Museums Director Barbara Jatta, tells Vatican Radio it is necessary to extend the current closure of the Museums after having previously set 16 January as a possible date for re-opening. The current Covid-19 situation in Italy does not allow for certainties. Currently there is a seven-kilometre itinerary mapped out through the Vatican Museums for small numbers of visitors, in compliance with anti-Covid precautions. (Vatican News)
13 January 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
- Pope Francis and Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI receive their firsts doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the first day of the vaccination campaign in the Vatican City. (Fox News)

IHS with angels,
Crown of Thorns,
at Hostýn,
Czech Republic.

11 January 2021 – Pope Francis publishes an apostolic letter in which, modifying the canon law, opens officially ministries of lector and acolyte to women. (Catholic News Agency)
9 January 2021 –
- Thousands of Roman Catholic devotees attend Saturday masses organized in lieu of the cancelled annual procession of the Black Nazarene at the Quiapo Church in Manila. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
  - Pope Francis confirms in an interview with Italian broadcaster Canale 5 that the vaccination campaign in Vatican City will begin next week and that he will receive the vaccine. (CNN) (Euronews)
  - Fabrizio Soccorsi, Pope Francis' personal physician, dies as a result of "complications due to COVID-19", according to Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. (Fox News)
8 January 2021 – Pope Francis appoints Vincenzo Buonomo as Head of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia, becoming the first lay person to do so. (Catholic News Agency)
7 January 2021 – Australia's financial watchdog is reviewing calculations for transfers worth US$1.8 billion sent to the country from the Vatican since 2014, after the Vatican and the Australian Church call for clarification. The transfers ranged from yearly totals of A$71.6 million (US$55.2 million) in 2014 to A$581.3 million in 2017, with about 47,000 separate transfers. "That amount of money and that number of transfers did not leave the Vatican City", a senior Vatican official with knowledge of the city-state's finances told Reuters last week. (Reuters)
4 January 2021 – Kidnapped Auxiliary Bishop Moses Chikwe, of the Owerri Archdiocese in Nigeria, is freed by his captors. Kidnapped last Sunday, police allege that no ransom is paid. International condemnation includes Pope Francis, during his new year message calling for Bishop Chikwe’s release. While in Imo state, a Catholic women's organization, stage a peaceful protest at the Imo state government house, calling on governor Hope Uzodinma, to quicken action for the release of the auxiliary bishop. (Vanguard, Lagos)
2 January 2021 – Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins, the episcopal vicar for veterans affairs of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. During his career, Bishop Higgins’ is vicar for veterans affairs and responsible for more than 200 chaplains serving at over 150 VA hospitals in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam. His retirement at age 75 is announced in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. (Catholic News Service)
1 January 2021 – On New Years Day Pope Francis livestreams his message from the library of the Apostolic Palace. He states "the Virgin Mary’s motherly care encourages us to use our God-given time for building up the world and peace, not destroying it." In the Catholic Church, January 1 is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. (Catholic News Agency)

2020[edit]

2020 News archive

29 December 2020 – Abortion in Argentina

Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill

The Senate begins to debate the legalization of abortion up until the 14th week of pregnancy. If passed, Argentina will become the third Latin American country to allow abortion to be performed on demand, after Cuba and Uruguay. The Catholic Church opposes the move. The bill has already been approved by the lower house. (Reuters)

8 December 2020 – Pope Francis issues the apostolic letter Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”) for the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as patron of the universal Church. The Pope declares a special Year of St. Joseph (December 8, 2020 — December 8, 2021). (Vatican News)
7 December 2020 – Holy See Press Director Matteo Bruni announces that Pope Francis will make his first international apostolic visit in 15 months after accepting the invitation of the Republic of Iraq and the local Catholic Church to visit the Middle Eastern country of Iraq from 5–8 March 2021. (Vatican News)
1 December 2020 – Pope Francis chooses Bishop Michael Fisher as the next Bishop of Buffalo, New York. Fisher currently serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Washington Archdiocese and is to be installed January 15, 2021. He replaces former Bishop Richard Malone. (Catholic News Agency)
28 November 2020 – College of Cardinalsedi

Wilton Daniel Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, becomes the first African American to earn the rank of cardinal. (The Washington Post)

15 November 2020 – Pope Francis issues an appeal to authorities in Ivory Coast to establish a climate of mutual trust and dialogue in the West African nation, where controversial elections have led to violence and a mass exodus from the country. (Vatican News)
31 October 2020 – Kivu conflict; Allied Democratic Forces insurgency

2020 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks

Allied Democratic Forces militants kills 21 civilians in an attack on a village in the village of Lisasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. More people were kidnapped, a health centre was ransacked, while homes were set on fire and a Catholic church desecrated. (Al Jazeera)

Catholic
Rosary
devotion

25 October 2020 – Cardinals created by Francis

Pope Francis announces the creation of 13 new cardinals, including the elevation of Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington who will become the first African-American cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. The elevation is scheduled to occur on November 28. (The Washington Post)

21 October 2020 – Pope Francis says he supports civil unions for same-sex couples. (NBC News)
12 October 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City

Four members of the Vatican Swiss Guard test positive for COVID-19, becoming the first positive cases since June. (NBC News)

6 October 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City

The Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State announces that as of 7 October it will also be mandatory to wear masks outdoors when it is not possible to maintain a safety distance. This rule will also apply in the extraterritorial properties of the Vatican in the city of Rome. (Catholic News Agency)

16 September 2020 – Pope Francis appoints Bishop Mario Grech, the former Bishop of Gozo, Malta, as secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops. Bishop Grech replaces Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, just prior to his 80th birthday. (Vatican Press Office)
11 September 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City

Vatican-based Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, tests positive for COVID-19. (Reuters via WTVB)

26 August 2020 – Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Catholic Church, COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City

The Holy See announces that Pope Francis will resume public audiences in September for the first time in nearly six months. However, the events will be limited to 500 people, held in a closed courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. (AFP via The Korea Times)
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld of the Netherlands is awarded the 2020 International Booker Prize for their novel The Discomfort of Evening. (The Guardian)

3 August 2020 – Pope Benedict's official biographer, Peter Seewald, reports former pope is "very frail" since his return from visiting his older brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, in Bavaria. His personal secretary, Archbishop George Ganswein, states "the health conditions are not of particular concern, except for those of a 93 year old who is going through a painful, but not serious, disease." (CNA/EWTN News)
21 July 2020 – Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) churches meet with Zimbabwe's political leaders to discuss pressing issues affecting the country. The southern African nation of 14.3 million is 72% Protestant and 11% Catholic, with 15% adhering to ethnic religions. (Vatican News)
12 July 2020 – Police in Boston and in New York are investigating attacks on statues of the Virgin Mary at local Catholic churches. In Boston, a statue outside St. Peter’s Church in Dorchester neighborhood was set on fire, causing serious damage. In New York, an unidentified man was shown on security videotape painting the word “idol” on a statue outside Cathedral Prep School in Queens. (Catholic News Agency)
8 July 2020 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The victory at the court comes after nine years of their legal fight against the Obama-era “contraception mandate”. (Catholic News Agency)
30 June 2020 – Police in Vatican City raid the department in charge of the maintenance and restoration of St. Peter's Basilica. The raid came due to suspicion of corruption in the awarding of building contracts. (Al Jazeera)
6 June 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City

Vatican Press Secretary announces that the last remaining patient has recovered and that there are zero active cases in the state. (Vatican News)

Painting by
Herman Richir

14 May 2020 – The Vatican announces that Pope Francis is sending a donation to Lebanon for 400 scholarships in an expression of his concern for the country’s young people. Lebanon is experiencing a “severe crisis” that is robbing younger generations of hope. (Catholic News Agency)
7 May 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

The Canadian Catholic Jesuit community at Pickering, Ontario mourns the deaths of five members of their community, including four priests, who died of COVID-19 at the religious order's long-term care facility. (Crux)

19 April 2020 – On Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis speaks at Santo Spirito in Sassia and warns about being struck by a worse virus of forgetting the poor and of "selfish indifference". (Crux) (National Catholic Register) (America Magazine)
12 April 2020 – Pope Francis livestreames the Urbi et Orbi blessing for the second time in just a month. Usually given on Christmas and Easter, this year the pope also gave the blessing on March 27, during a special prayer service for the end of the coronavirus. (Crux)
7 April 2020 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Australia

George Pell wins his appeal in the High Court of Australia against child sexual abuse convictions. (CNN)

Painting by
James Collinson,
1878

27 March 2020 – Pope Francis delivers a special Urbi et Orbi blessing in an empty Saint Peter's Square praying for the end of coronavirus pandemic, before the San Marcello al Corso's miraculous crucifix that was moved from its original church in Rome two days ago. (Vatican News) (Aleteia)
24 March 2020 – 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Vatican City</

Roman Curia confirms three more cases, raising to four. (Il Messaggero)

22 March 2020 – 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Vatican City

Pope Francis, in a call for a worldwide prayer, announces he will hold a special service to pray for the end of the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)

10 March 2020 – 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Vatican City

Saint Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica closes to tourists between 10 March and 3 April after Italy lockdown (The Guardian)

6 March 2020 – 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Vatican City

The Vatican City reports its first case. (Reuters)

28 February 2020 – Pope Francis, in tandem with IBM and Microsoft, calls for AI technologies that risk violating human rights, such as facial recognition software, to be regulated. (Reuters)
12 February 2020 – Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church rules against ordaining married men as priests as a measure to address shortage of Catholic priests. He also ruled against allowing women to be ordained as deacons. (BBC News)
30 January 2020 – Catholic Cardinal Philippe Barbarin is acquitted by an appellate court of having covered up allegations of child sexual abuse by a former priest. (Reuters)
15 January 2020 – The Vatican appoints Francesca Di Giovanni undersecretary for multilateral affairs in the Secretariat of State, the first woman to hold a management position in this office. (BBC News)

2019[edit]

2019 News archive

Painting by
Murillo,
circa 1678

31 December 2019 – 2018–19 Southern Africa drought

Severe drought conditions continue in Zimbabwe where close to 7 million people are facing food shortages, according to a Catholic aid agency. Because of repeated droughts over the past five years, many of Zimbabwe's small farmers are unable to feed their families. Catholic Relief Services is working with farmers teaching soil and water conservation methods. The agency offers drought-resistant crops to farmers and is cooperating on a notification system warning farmers about threats to their harvest. (Catholic News Agency) (Bloomberg News)

20 December 2019 – The Two Popes film is released on Netflix just before the holiday season. It has a limited theatrical release during November in the United States and United Kingdom. Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis gives a dramatic interpretation of a series of conversations that took place between the liberal cardinal and the conservative incumbent Pope Benedict (played by Anthony Hopkins). (Screen Daily)
8 December 2019 – Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, to head the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. It is a congregation of the Roman Curia, responsible for world-wide missionary work and related activities. (Catholic News Agency)

Painting by
Fra Angelico,
1441 - 1442

26 November 2019 –

Pope Francis prays for victims of deadly earthquake in Albania. The pope sends "heartfelt condolences" to Albanian President Ilir Meta. The quake's epicenter is less than 20 miles from Tirana, country's capital city, which has a population of 900,000. Additional earthquakes occurred in southern Bosnia and the island of Crete. (Catholic News Agency)
The Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life announces a new advisory team of young Catholic leaders. Serving a three-year term, the new members are from the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia. The first meeting of the 20 member International Youth Advisory Board is scheduled for April in Rome.(Crux)

25 November 2019 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Argentina

Two Roman Catholic priests are sentenced to more than 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting deaf children at a church school in Mendoza Province, Argentina; the school's gardener also receives an 18-year sentence. (BBC News) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/25/roman-catholic-priests-argentina-sentenced-45-years-child-abuse-school-deaf (The Guardian)

23 November 2019 – Pope Francis travels to Japan

During his 23 November to 26 November journey to Japan, Pope Francis visits Tokyo, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The only pope to previously visit Japan was Pope John Paul II in 23–26 February 1981.(Holy See Press Office)(Vatican News)

Catholic
Rosary
devotion

20 November 2019 – Pope Francis visits Thailand

Pope Francis arrives in Bangkok for a three-day visit to Thailand. The Catholic Church in Thailand is celebrating 350 years of Holy See recognition of the Church in Thailand. Bishop Arpondratana of Chiang Mai diocese states that the pope's visit is important for the Church in all of Asia. (Catholic News Agency)

13 November 2019 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases

The Australian High Court agrees to hear a final appeal from ex-Vatican treasurer and convicted child sex offender George Pell, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting three teenage choirboys. (Reuters)

27 October 2019 – Catholic Synod of Bishops for the Amazon issues a final document.

Since convening on 6 October, the synod of bishops from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela, and Suriname gather with Pope Francis in Rome. According to the bishops, "a deep personal, social and structural conversion" is needed in response to the "unprecedented" environmental and social crisis in the Amazon. (Catholic News Service)

13 October 2019 – Pope Francis canonizes five people as saints including John Henry Newman.

At Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City, the pope praises the 19th-century Anglican convert who was a unifying figure in both the Anglican and Catholic churches. (ABC News)

2 October 2019 – At Vatican, Secretary Mike Pompeo highlights Chinese religious freedom violations

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks out about China's religious freedom violations during a visit to the Vatican. (Catholic News Agency)

Church of the
Immaculate
Conception,
Monte Grande,
Argentina

17 September, 2019 - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican. In his brief remarks, Patriarch Bartholomew talks about the value of synodality in the Eastern Orthodox Church. (Vatican News)
11 September 2019 – Pope Francis visits Africa

At St. Peter's Square Pope Francis reviews highlights from his African visit to Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius on September 4-10. (Crux)

30 August 2019 – Pope Francis sends a video message to the people of Mozambique, before his visit to the African country next week. He stresses reconciliation after years of conflict. The Pontiff says that “although I will be unable to travel beyond the capital, my heart reaches out and embraces you all, with a special place for those who live in difficulty.” (Holy See Press Office)
21 August 2019 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Australia

The Supreme Court of Victoria rejects an appeal made by Cardinal George Pell against a six-year jail sentence for child sexual abuse. (The Guardian)

20 August, 2019: Holy See–Vietnam relations
- The two sides meet in the Vatican and discuss bilateral relations, ecclesial life and the future visit of Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Vietnam — Holy See Joint Working Group first met in 2009. Vietnam, a Communist nation of 97 million, is 7% Catholic. (Vatican News)
11 August, 2019 - Pope Francis recalls the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions after his Sunday afternoon Angelus address. The 1949 conventions concern the treatment of the sick, the wounded, prisoners, and civilians in war. (Vatican News)

30 July, 2019 - Federal agents have joined the investigation of a fire that destroys a 125 year-old landmark Catholic Church of the Visitation in Westphalia, Texas. After storms destroyed two earlier church structures in the 1880s, the Church of Visitation was completed in February of 1895 and dedicated on May 23, 1895. (Catholic News Agency)
22 July, 2019: Holy See–Syria relations
- Pope Francis petitions President Bashar al-Assad Assad to protect weak and defenseless in Syria. The pope’s appeal is in a letter to Assad delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at a meeting with the president in Damascus. (Catholic News Agency)
18 July 2019 – Holy See–Iran relations
- Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the head of the Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Church, voices his concerns about rising tensions between the US and Iran could endanger plans for Pope Francis visit to Iraq. (Asia News)
8 July 2019 – Pope Francis names for first time in Vatican history female members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. (Catholic News Agency)
28 June 2019 – China–Holy See relations

The Vatican asks China's communist government to stop intimidating Catholic clergy who want to remain unequivocally loyal to the pope and refuse to sign ambiguous official registration forms. (Reuters)

12 June 2019 – Bolivarian diaspora

The Peruvian Catholic Church urges the government of that country to continue receiving Venezuelan immigrants. He also expressed concern about the "increase in the negative perception of migrants". This, after the president Martín Vizcarra decided to demand visa and passport for Venezuelan citizens who wish to enter Peru. (Gestión)

2 June 2019 – During his visit to Romania, Pope Francis apologizes to the Roma people on behalf of the Catholic Church and asks forgiveness for "all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you." He also beatifies seven Eastern Catholic church bishops who were jailed for treason and tortured under Communist rule. All died in confinement and were buried in secret. (Reuters) (BBC)

26 May, 2019 - Four people are killed in an attack on a Catholic church in northern Burkina Faso, the latest in a string of assaults on Christian places of worship in the region. (Al Jazeera)
12 May, 2019 - Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)

Gunmen burn down a Catholic church during mass and kill six people, including a priest, in Dablo, Burkina Faso. (BBC)

26 April, 2019 - Pope Francis meets with Milorad Dodik, head of the joint presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina. They discuss bilateral relations, the presence of the Catholic community, coexistence and reconciliation, and the economic and social challenges facing Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Vatican Press Office)
21 April, 2019 - Christianity and violence, Catholic Church in Sri Lanka
- Easter Sunday attacks on several churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, kill at least 359 people and wound more than 500 others. Pope Francis speaks words of solidarity to the Christian community of Sri Lanka, lamenting that the attacks have wrought grief and sorrow. (Vatican News)
20 April, 2019 - Bangladesh celebrates Easter as national holiday for first time in 30 years. The South Asian nation of 159 million is 89% Muslim and 10% Hindu. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey to Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017. (Vatican News)
17 April, 2019 - A man carrying lighters, canisters filled with gasoline and lighter fluid is arrested at New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral. A police source states Lamparello is a CUNY student seeking his Ph.D. in philosophy and occasional adjunct lecturer at Lehman College. (The Hill), (New York Post)

15 April, 2019 - Notre-Dame de Paris fire

A fire breaks out at the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, resulting in the collapse of its roof and spire and considerable damage to the building's interior. (AJC) (BBC)
French President Emmanuel Macron pledges to rebuild the Cathedral after the fire. (BBC)

2 April, 2019 - Peruvian authorities investigate the death of British De La Salle Brother Paul McAuley, age 71. According to the report he is burned to death in a home he founded for indigenous students in Iquitos, in the northeastern Amazonian region. (AP)
30 March, 2019 -

Pope Francis and Moroccan King Mohammed VI call for the protection of Jerusalem's multi-religious character, saying the city's sacred sites must be accessible to worshipers of all faiths. (Reuters)
Pope Francis says the plight of migrants was "a wound that cries out to heaven". He added, "The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families". (Reuters)

26 March, 2019 - The all-female board of Women Church World, a monthly supplement in the L'Osservatore Romano (the Vatican City daily newspaper), resign citing a campaign to discredit them and put them "under the direct control of men". (BBC)
12 March, 2019 - Catholic Church sexual abuse cases

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior official of the Catholic Church to be convicted of sexual abuse to date, is sentenced to six years in prison for the sexual assault of two children in the late 1990s. (CNN)

4 March, 2019 - Pope Francis announces the Vatican's historical archives of Pope Pius XII's pontificate (1939–1958) will be accessible to scholars next year, effective 2 March 2020. (Vatican News) (BBC)

28 February, 2019 - Pope Francis pays tribute to Cardinal Augustin Bea (1881-1968) as a pioneer of Jewish-Catholic dialogue. The papal audience commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Cardinal Bea. "He remains a model and a source of inspiration for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue". He served as the first president of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. (Holy See Press Office)
26 February, 2019 - Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Australia, Pope Francis's response to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church

Australian cardinal George Pell is convicted of sexually assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral. The verdict has been suppressed by a gag order until now. He is the Catholic Church's most senior official to be convicted of a sexual crime in history. (The Age) (The Age₂)

5 February, 2019 - Pope Francis makes a public statement acknowledging that some priests and bishops in the Catholic Church have been sexually abusing nuns. (CBS-6)
3 February, 2019 - Pope Francis arrives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, becoming the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
January 22-27, 2019: World Youth Day 2019 (Spanish: Jornada Mundial de la Juventud 2019) was the 16th World Youth Day, an international event organized by the Catholic Church and focused on faith and youth. Taking place 22–27 January in Panama City, Panama, it was the first of its kind celebrated in Central America. Pope Francis announced the theme for World Youth Day 2019: I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. (Lk 1:38)
7 January, 2019 - Father Bernardo Buil, a friar from Aragon, celebrates the first Mass in the New World at La Isabela in Puerto Plata on January 6, 1494. To commemorate this 525-year event Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez of El Salvador as his representative for the anniversary Mass. Father Buil accompanied Christopher Columbuson his second voyage. (Fides)
2 January, 2019 – In the first part of 2019, Pope Francis has these foreign trips planned. He journeys to Panama (January 23-26), the United Arab Emirates (February 3-5), Morocco (March 30-31), and Bulgaria and Macedonia (May 5-7). The Pope also hopes to visit Japan during 2019. (Vatican News)

2018[edit]

2018 News archive

December 12, 2018 - Pope Francis removes Australian prelate George Pell and Chilean prelate Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa from the Council of Cardinal Advisers. Both are accused of covering up child sexual abuse scandals. Former Archbishop of Kinshasa Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya also leaves the Council for unrelated reasons. (BBC)
December 11, 2018 - Campinas Cathedral shooting

A gunman kills four people and injures four others at a Catholic cathedral in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The gunman commits suicide after the attack. (BBC) (NBC News)

Painting by
Fra Angelico,
1441 - 1442

November 12, 2018 - Pope Francis asks the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, now meeting in Baltimore, to delay voting on proposals to address the sexual abuse crisis until he leads a global summit in February. (CNN) (Axios)
November 5, 2018 - Foreign relations of the Holy See, Foreign relations of Andorra

Pope Francis, head of state of the Vatican City and leader of the Roman Catholic Church, threatens to order the abdication of Andorran co-monarch Joan Enric Vives Sicília, Archbishop-Bishop of Urgell, if the country decriminalises or legalises abortion. (Diari d'Andorra - Catalan)

October 14, 2018 - Óscar Romero, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador assassinated while celebrating Mass in 1980, is canonized by Pope Francis. Six other canonizations, including that of Pope Paul VI, are also announced. (BBC)
October 9, 2018 - Foreign relations of the Holy See, Foreign relations of North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invites Pope Francis to Pyongyang, and said he would be "warmly welcomed" to North Korea. (New York Times) (UPI)

October 4, 2018 - Catholic Church abuse cases

Michigan authorities seize records from Catholic dioceses in the state as part of an investigation into possible sexual abuse by clergy. (CNN)

September 28, 2018 - Catholic sexual abuse cases in Chile

The Roman Catholic Church defrocks Father Fernando Karadima, a priest at the center of a sex abuse scandal in Chile. (Reuters)

September 22, 2018 - Pope Francis's visit to the Baltic States

Pope Francis arrives in Vilnius, Lithuania, on his visit to the Baltic States. (Catholic News Agency)

China–Holy See relations

The Vatican signs a provisional agreement with China on the process used to appoint bishops, a breakthrough after years of contentious negotiations on the management of Catholic leadership in the communist country. (The Washington Post)

August 28, 2018 - A Catholic priest held hostage for almost four months by Muslim militants in Marawi city in the southern Philippines says he still believes in inter-religious dialogue despite experiencing horrors that included seeing a fellow captive gunned down in crossfire and another one killed during an airstrike. (BenarNews)
August 26, 2018 - Pope Francis's visit to Ireland

Pope Francis holds Sunday Mass at Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, for the World Meeting of Families. (CNN)

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò accuses Pope Francis of covering up sexual abuse allegations against Theodore McCarrick. Pope Francis declines to comment on Viganò's accusations. (ABC News)

After returning from his visit, the Pope says that, when parents discover their child is homosexual, they should not judge or condemn them. However, he also remarks that "many things can be done by psychiatry". (Belga via Het Laatste Nieuws) (The Washington Post)

August 21, 2018 - Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania

The University of Scranton removes the names of three former Catholic bishops (James Timlin, J. Carroll McCormick and Jerome Hannan) implicated in a grand jury report on abuse in Pennsylvania from its campus buildings. (Times-Tribune) (CNN)

August 14, 2018 - Grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania

A grand jury report alleging that more than 300 priests abused over 1,000 children in six Pennsylvania Catholic diocese -- Allentown, Scranton, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and Erie -- is released by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro. (Washington Post)(Wilkes Barre Times-Leader)

August 2, 2018 - Theology of Pope Francis

Pope Francis changes Catholic Church teaching to fully reject the death penalty, saying that it would work to abolish the death penalty worldwide. (The Washington Post)

July 30, 2018 - Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson announces his resignation after being convicted for his role in covering up sexual abuse. He is the most senior Roman Catholic official convicted to date. (BBC)
July 3, 2018 - Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, is sentenced to 12 months in detention for covering up child sexual abuse in the 1970s. Pope Francis appoints Port Pirie Bishop Gregory O'Kelly as Apostolic Administrator, but with special near-full powers to govern the Archdiocese, though for now Wilson is still the Archbishop. (BBC)

June 14, 2018 - Cardinal Pietro Parolin addresses participants in the Second Holy See – Mexico Conference on International Migration. The Vatican Secretary of State assesses the current political climate, calls for the humane treatment of migrants and discusses the “primary right” to live with dignity in one’s home country. (Holy See Press Office)
June 4, 2018 - Phil Andrew, a Catholic layman, a shooting victim and FBI agent joins the Chicago Archdiocese in a new position. Andrew survived being shot in the chest and went on to a 21-year career in law enforcement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after serving as executive director for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. As director of Violence Prevention Initiatives, Andrew believes it is as much about changing hearts as it is about changing laws. (National Catholic Reporter)
May 31, 2018 - 2018 Nicaraguan protests

Catholic bishops cancel the planned Episcopal Conference talks with the government after protests against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega turn violent. According to the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, pro-government armed groups killed 11 people. (Reuters)

May 21, 2018 - Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia

Philip Wilson, the Catholic archbishop of Adelaide, Australia, is convicted of concealing sexual abuse of children from authorities. (BBC)

May 18, 2018 - All 34 Roman Catholic bishops in Chile offer to resign after Pope Francis accused them of destroying evidence of sexual crimes. (Reuters)

April 28, 2018 - Cardinal Angelo Amato, acting on behalf of Pope Francis, beatifies Hanna Chrzanowska in Kraków, Poland. Chrzanowska dedicated her life to helping the sick and homeless and had worked with Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, who led her funeral services before he became Pope John Paul II. (Radio Poland)
April 20, 2018 - Crime in Poland

A court in Radom, Poland, hands a six-month suspended prison term and a 10,000 zloty fine to a Russian pilot who caused a security scare during Pope Francis's 2016 visit for World Youth Day. The Russian had flown from the Czech Republic to compete in an international aerobatics competition and unknowingly violated a no-fly zone imposed for the papal visit. After failing to contact the aircraft, local authorities scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to intercept it. (Radio Poland)

April 15, 2018 - Theology of Pope Francis

Pope Francis comforts a crying boy in San Paolo della Croce, Rome, by telling him his recently-deceased father, an atheist, will have ascended to heaven on the basis his father had "a good heart". (A.N.S.A.)

April 9, 2018 - "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour"

In a new apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis mentions Satan or the Devil twelve times. Warning against Catholic media transgressing the eighth commandment, he calls to "see how the unguarded tongue, set on fire by hell, sets all things ablaze." (Reuters)

April 1, 2018 - 2018 Gaza border protests

Pope Francis uses his Easter address to call for peace between the peoples of Israel and Palestine in response to the clashes. (The Guardian)

March 30, 2018 - The Lansing, Michigan, Catholic Diocese's insurance company files a civil suit against Rev. Jonathan Wehrle, former pastor of St. Martha's Catholic Church in Okemos, a Lansing suburb, for the embezzlement of more than $5 million from his parish. Wehrle already faces six criminal counts for using embezzled funds to pay for home construction (appraised for much more than a $1 million), maintenance, and purchases. (Lansing State Journal), (AP via ABC News), (Lansing State Journal²)

March 19, 2018 - "Gaudete et exsultate" ('Rejoice and Be Glad'; from Matthew 5:12) is the third apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, dated on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, and is subtitled "on the call to holiness in today's world". It addresses the universal call to holiness, with a focus "to repropose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time". (Catholic Herald)
March 16, 2018 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases:
- Anthony Sablan Apuron, the former Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam is found guilty on charges of the sexual abuse of minors by a tribunal. He is suspended from the exercise of his authority over the archdiocese. (Zenit)
- Another lawsuit is filed against the Catholic Church in Guam, bringing the total lawsuits alleging historical sexual abuse to 157. Louis Brouillard, who is now 96, was on Guam from 1948 to 1981, and is accused of abusing boys in 100 of the lawsuits the church is facing. (Radio New Zealand)
February 14, 2018 – High-level delegations from the Vatican and the Patriarchate of Moscow meet in Vienna discussing the gains in ecumenical work in the two years since Pope Francis met in Havana with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. (AsiaNews)
February 1, 2018 – China–Holy See relations:
- A framework accord between the Vatican and China on the appointment of bishops is ready and could be signed in a few months in what would be an historic breakthrough in relations, according to a senior Vatican source. (Reuters)
January 19, 2018 – Pan-Amazon region synod:
- Pope Francis visits Peru and meets 4,000 members of the indigenous communities from the Amazon rainforest. He states that the people of the Amazon are threatened now more than ever, and questions the conservationist policies that affect the Peruvian rainforest. In Puerto Maldonado, he asks for the indigenous communities to be recognized as partners instead of as minorities. He calls on the Peruvian people to put an end to practices that degrade women, and criticizes the sterilization of indigenous women. (Anadolu Agency) (America Magazine)
January 13, 2018 – Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles, as his special envoy at the celebration of the 150 th anniversary of the erection of the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to take place on 4 March 2018. (Holy See Press Office)

2017[edit]

2017 News archive

December 14, 2017 – Pope Francis accepts the diplomatic credentials of new ambassadors to the Holy See from Azerbaijan, Chad, India, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Swaziland, and Yemen. In his welcoming address, the Pope mentions "the key role that dialogue plays in enabling diversity". (Vatican Press Office)
December 6, 2017 – United States recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital:
- Pope Francis urges respect for the status quo for Jerusalem and calls for "wisdom and prudence" to avoid further conflict. (ABC News)
November 27, 2017 – International reactions to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, Pastoral visits of Pope Francis:
- Pope Francis arrives in Yangon to begin a six-day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh, where he is expected to meet with the Rohingya people. (BBC), (Channel NewsAsia)

November 10, 2017 – Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development:
- Pope Francis, at the start of a two-day nuclear disarmament conference at Vatican City, says countries should not stockpile nuclear weapons even for the purpose of deterrence. (Reuters) (Vatican Radio)
November 9, 2017 – Smoking ban in Vatican City:
- Pope Francis issues a directive banning the sale of most tobacco in Vatican City as of January 1, 2018, because of its unhealthy attributes. A 2015 book stated the papal city netted $11 million (£8.7 million) per year from these sales. (Agence France-Presse, MSN.com) (Crux)
October 20, 2017 - Pope Francis and Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta express sorrow over the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia, an investigative journalist who died in a car bomb attack. (Catholic News Agency)
October 15, 2017 - Pope Francis announces a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region. The synod is planned for October of 2019. (Vatican Radio)

"Sacred Heart of Jesus"
Image of artwork, 2014.

September 23, 2017: The Venerable Rev. Father Stanley Rother, a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City (born in Okarche, Oklahoma), is beatified at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City by Cardinal Angelo Amato, head of the sainthood Congregation in the Roman Curia and Pope Francis's delegate. Rother, who became a missionary, was assassinated in July 1981 in the poor rural village of Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, and is the first Catholic martyr born a citizen of the United States. (The New York Times)
September 6, 2017 – Pastoral visits of Pope Francis:
- Pope Francis arrives in Colombia for a five-day visit. In early 2016, Francis promised he would visit the South American country once a civil war peace agreement was in place. (CNN) (Independent Catholic News)
August 15, 2017 – The 50th anniversary of the death of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, the decorated Navy chaplain is commorated with a Mass and documentary premiere. He was killed in 1967 along with ambushed Marines during the Vietnam War. (Catholic News Agency)
August 6, 2017 – Boko Haram insurgency:
- Gunmen kill 11 worshipers in St Phillip's Catholic Church in the town of Ozubulu in Nigeria's Anambra State. (Reuters)

Raleigh
N. Carolina

July 26, 2017 - The Holy Name of Jesus cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina is dedicated. The groundbreaking took place on January 3, 2015. (WRAL)
July 11, 2017 - Pope Francis appoints Father Andrew Bellisario as Bishop of Juneau, Alaska, and Auxiliary Bishop Nelson J. Pérez as Bishop of Cleveland, Ohio. (Catholic News Agency)
June 29, 2017 - Child sexual abuse in Australia:
- Victoria Police charge Cardinal George Pell, the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, and the third most senior official of the Catholic Church, with historic child sex offences. Pell will be required to attend hearings at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Australia on July 19. (ABC News Australia)
- The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney says Cardinal Pell "strenuously denies" these sexual assault charges. (Reuters)
June 3, 2017 - Pope Francis meets with 400 children from towns hit by earthquakes in central Italy on August 24, 2016. A few children offer brief testimony about their experiences during the earthquake, which hit parts of central Italy and resulted in nearly 300 deaths. (Catholic News Agency)
May 21, 2017 - In a surprise appointment by Pope Francis, Bishop Anders Arborelius is the first ever person from Sweden to become a cardinal. (Catholic News Service)
May 6, 2017 - Pope Francis meets with Swiss President Doris Leuthard. During her discussions with the Pope and with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, the parties expressed a desire to strengthen Church-state collaboration. (Holy See Press Office)
April 16, 2017 - Archbishop Georg Gänswein who is Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary since 2003 interviews with EWTN's German television branch on the occasion of the emeritus pope's 90th birthday. (Catholic News Agency)
April 12, 2017 - Pope Francis expands the Secretariat for Communications and appoints 13 new consultants in addition to the 16 members added on July 13, 2016. The secretariat was established in June 2015. (America Magazine)

March 23, 2017 - Cardinal William Henry Keeler, who was Archbishop of Baltimore from 1989 to 2007, dies at the age of 86. At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he served as the moderator for Catholic-Jewish relations as well as the Chair for the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs between 1984 and 1987. (Catholic News Agency)
March 10, 2017 - Pope Francis donates 100,000 euros for the poor of Aleppo. (Reuters)
February 18, 2017 - As many as fifty thousand people gather in Manila for a march organized by the Philippine Catholic Church to protest the Philippine Drug War. (International Business Times), (Fox News)
February 15, 2017 - At the Indigenous Peoples Forum in Rome, Italy, Pope Francis says that developmental needs have to be reconciled with the protection of the particular characteristics of indigenous peoples and their territories. This is taken by some as a reference to the Standing Rock Sioux and other groups opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Reuters)
January 25, 2017 - The Vatican City State announces that Pope Francis will name a Pontifical Delegate to head the Sovereign Military Order of Malta after Prince and Grand Master Matthew Festing's unexpected forced resignation in a spat over condoms. (Reuters)
January 14, 2017 - The Palestinian National Authority prepares to open an embassy in the Vatican City, just one day before a Palestinian peace conference in Paris. (Al Jazeera)

2016[edit]

2016 News archive

December 25, 2016 - Pope Francis pleads for peace in a Christmas Mass in the Vatican. (Voice of America)
December 12, 2016 - Antonio Guterres, a Portuguese Catholic politician will be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations beginning January 1, 2017. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. (Catholic World Report)
November 19, 2016 - Pope Francis creates 17 new cardinals during a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica, raising the membership of the College of Cardinals to 228, of whom 121 are eligible to vote in a papal election. (Holy See Press Office)
November 6, 2016 - In an apparent rebuke against United States Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, Pope Francis speaks a sermon in Spanish warning against "fear" and the "walls" that divide. (The Washington Post)

October 25, 2016 - The Catholic Church announces that cremated remains must be kept in consecrated land, rather than scattered about or kept at home. The Church first permitted cremation in 1963, but still strongly favours burial. (BBC News)
October 16, 2016 - Pope Francis declares seven new saints. (Vatican Radio)
October 9, 2016 - Pope Francis announces the upcoming creation of 17 new Cardinals; 13 of them will be under the age of 80 and thus able to vote in a future papal conclave to select the new Pope. (The Vatican Information Service)
September 15, 2016 - 106 of the 108 papal nuncios and other papal diplomatic representatives meet in Rome for three days of meetings. On the final day, Pope Francis presides at a Mass with the nuncios. (Holy See Press Office)
September 4, 2016 - Mother Teresa, known for working with the desperately poor in India, is canonized by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican. (BBC News)
August 17, 2016 - With a Moto Proprio, Pope Francis announces the establishment of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. The Prefect of the new Dicastery is the Irish-born Bishop Kevin Joseph Farrell, currently serving as Bishop of Dallas. (Vatican Radio)
August 8, 2016 - Pope Benedict XVI issues a new appeal for an end to bloodshed in Syria, and added a plea for peace in Libya. (Catholic World News)
August 2, 2016 - Catholic bishops of Panama welcome the news that the next World Youth Day celebration is to be held in 2019 in Panama City. This location is the first diocese established in the Americas, in 1513. (Fides)

July 27, 2016 – Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who served as Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary is the principal celebrant at the World Youth Day opening Mass on July 26th evening in Kraków, Poland. Pope Francis is to arrive in Poland on July 27th afternoon. (Catholic World News)
July 7, 2016 – Vatican leaks scandal, Journalistic freedom

In a so-called VatiLeaks case, a Vatican City Court dismisses charges of publishing confidential information against two Italian journalists stating it lacked jurisdiction in this case. Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi wrote books on the inner workings of the Vatican. The court did convict a Vatican priest to 18 months, and assessed a 10-month suspended sentence on an Italian communications expert, for conspiring to pass documents to the journalists; a fifth defendant was cleared of all charges. (AP) (The Guardian) (Catholic News) (Vatican Radio)

June 23, 2016 – Holy See–Turkey relations:
- Pope Francis's visit to Armenia this weekend may stress relations with Turkey. The Pope is seeking to avoid reigniting the diplomatic dispute that arose last year when he described the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as a genocide. The Vatican prefers the Armenian phrase "Medz Yeghern", which roughly translates as "the great evil or calamity". (Reuters), (PanARMENIAN.Net) (NBC News)
June 2, 2016 – Catholics in France and Belgium are recovering from ISIS attacks including numerous acts of violence and aggression, fires set in churches, an assault on a priest, the desecration of a tabernacle and the hacking of more than 100 Catholic websites. (Catholic News Agency)

Photo 20
May 2015

May 23, 2016 - Pope Francis meets with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb in the Vatican. (Al Jazeera) (ABC News) (US News)
May 12, 2016 - Amid impeachment proceedings in Brazil against President Dilma Rousseff Pope Francis appeals for prayer and dialogue. (Vatican Radio) (BBC)
April 16, 2016 – European migrant crisis:
- Pope Francis arrives on the Greek island of Lesbos. Francis is expected to visit the Moria detention facility, where he will have lunch with some of the 3,060 men, women, and children there. (The Washington Post)
- Pope Francis offers refuge to a dozen Syrian Muslims, three families with six children, who faced deportation from Lesbos. The refugees accompanied the Pope on his return trip to Rome. (The Guardian)
April 8, 2016 - Pope Francis issues Amoris Laetitia or the Joy of Love, a document on the Roman Catholic approach to love, sex, marriage and family life. (AP)
March 12, 2016 – For the first time the Pope Francis’ monthly prayer intentions are featured on video. The videos are filmed in collaboration with the Jesuit-run global prayer network Apostleship of Prayer and the Vatican Television Center. (Catholic News Agency)
March 4, 2016 –

Yemeni Civil War (2015–present):

Gunmen storm a retirement home in Yemen, run by a charity established by Mother Teresa, killing 16 people, including four Catholic nuns. (The New York Times)

An app called “Click to pray” is launched, which allows users to pray daily for Pope Francis and his monthly intentions through a mobile network. (Catholic News Agency)

February 21, 2016 - Pope Francis calls for a worldwide ban on the death penalty and urges Christian leaders to work to stop executions as part of the church's Holy Year of Mercy. (UPI)
February 13, 2016 – Holy See–Mexico relations

Pope Francis's apostolic journey to Mexico is February 12 to 18. On the first full day in Mexico, the pope addresses political leaders at the National Palace, speaks to bishops at the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, and celebrates Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (Catholic World News)

Photo 27
September 2009

February 12, 2016 - Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their schism in 1054. (BBC News)
February 12, 2016 – East–West Schism:
- Pope Francis meets with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Havana, Cuba. It is the first time that the heads of the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church have ever met. (CNN)
January 16, 2016 - From the Diocese of Tonga, Catholic Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi is welcomed at the Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus in Honolulu, Hawaii. Appointed by Pope Francis, Mafi is the first and youngest cardinal from the small South Pacific nation of Tonga. (Hawaii Catholic Herald)
January 1, 2016 - A new 28-foot tall statue of Jesus, dubbed "Jesus de Greatest", is unveiled on New Year's Day outside St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Abajah village, Nigeria's Imo state, which is described as the tallest Jesus statue in Africa. (USA Today)

2015[edit]

2015 News archive

December 21, 2015 - Pope Francis, in his annual pre-Christmas speech, urged the Roman Curia (cardinals and bishops who direct Holy See actions), to follow his "catalogue of virtues", e.g., to show more maturity, honesty, humility, and sobriety in their tasks. He listed "Curial antibiotics" to treat the "15 ailments of the Curia" he outlined last year and which still plague the Vatican. (AP, Berlin Record) (National Catholic Reporter)
December 10, 2015 - The Vatican releases a 10,000-word document that, among other things, says Jews don't need to be converted to find salvation, and that Catholics should work with Jews to fight antisemitism. (NPR) (Reuters) (Vatican-full text)

Portrait by
Kazimirowski

December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016 - During the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Rome received 21.3 million pilgrims, the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe received 22 million pilgrims, and World Youth Day in Krakow received 3 million pilgrims.
December 2, 2015 - Authorities arrest four Kosovo jihadists men, three in Italy and one in Kosovo, for making nonspecific threats against Pope Francis and the former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo. The men are described by police as highly dangerous and as having celebrated the November 2015 Paris attacks. (The Independent, MSN)
November 30, 2015 – Pope Francis' 2015 visit to Africa
- Pope Francis travels to a besieged Muslim neighborhood known as PK5 in the Central African Republic, a country wracked by sectarian violence. This visit is part of Francis's message of peace and reconciliation. As a result of the violence over the last two years, most of the capital Bangui's 100,000-plus Muslims have fled; now only 15,000 remain. (AP via The Bastrop Daily Enterprise)
- Pope Francis tells a crowd in a mosque in Bangui that "Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters." (BBC)
November 29, 2015 – Pope Francis' 2015 visit to Africa
- Pope Francis arrives in the Central African Republic, the last stop of his six-day African tour, becoming the first modern pope to enter an active war zone as the country is in a state of civil war. (The Guardian)

November 27, 2015 – Pope Francis's visit to Kenya
- Pope Francis, speaking in the Kenyan shantytown Kangemi, a sprawling slum filled with tin-roofed homes, lashes out at the elite in a neighborhood that feels largely disenfranchised. He describes injustices against the poor, such as unfair distribution of land, and lack of access to infrastructures and basic services, as "new forms of colonialism". (CNN)
- Francis, at a Nairobi sports center, says education and jobs will prevent young people from being radicalized and heading off to join militant groups. At the Kasarani Stadium, the Pope urges attendees to resist the temptation of corruption. “It’s in all the institutions, including in the Vatican ..." (USA Today)
November 26, 2015 – Pope Francis's visit to Kenya
- Pope Francis condemns the way young people have been "radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear," during a talk in Nairobi, Kenya. (Washington Post)
- Pope Francis celebrates a historic Mass in Kenya before delivering a stern environmental warning to the world. "It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in order to protect their own plans and projects," the Pope said, urging nations to reach agreement over curbing fossil fuel emissions. (CNN)

November 25, 2015 – Pope Francis's 2015 visit to North America
- A one-year old baby girl with an apparently incurable illness, who was kissed by Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia in September, gets MRI results showing her brain tumor has shrunk significantly. Some friends and family call it the "Miracle on Market Street." (NBC News) (Philadelphia Daily News)
November 25, 2015 – Pope Francis's visit to Kenya
- Pope Francis makes his first official visit to Africa. (Reuters)
- Francis encourages Kenyans to work for peace and forgiveness amid a wave of extremist violence on the continent which has threatened to disrupt his trip. His six-day pilgrimage will also take him to Uganda and the Central African Republic. (AP via The Salt Lake Tribune)
November 13, 2015 – Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present)
- At least 22 people are killed this week in a string of raids on villages in the Central African Republic. The escalation of violence threatens to derail a visit by Pope Francis and crucial elections scheduled for December 27, 2015. (Reuters)
October 24, 2015 - The three-week synod on the family convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican concludes with traditional Catholic orientations toward marriage and the family intact. (The New York Times)
October 21, 2015 - The Vatican denies an Italian newspaper report that Pope Francis has a benign brain tumour, saying the 78-year-old pontiff is in good health, and denounces the article as utterly reprehensible. (Reuters)

October 19, 2015 - Pope Francis encourages bishops from around the world to sign an appeal to world leaders, meeting in Paris next month, for crucial climate change talks. In a major teaching document in June, the encyclical Laudato Si' (Latin: Praised be), Francis denounced what he called the "structurally perverse" fossil fuel-based world economy that exploits the poor and destroys the habitability of the Earth for humans. (AP, The Washington Post)
September 23, 2015 – Pope Francis' visit to the United States:
- Pope Francis makes his first ever visit to the U.S. and becomes the third Pope to visit the White House. He was received in an official welcome ceremony by President and Mrs. Obama and is scheduled to meet with a bishops' conference of the United States and hold mass and canonize Junípero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, near the Catholic University of America. (AP, MSN), (The New York Times), (The Washington Post), (CNN)
September 1, 2015 - Pope Francis releases a letter granting priests the ability to grant absolution to women who have received an abortion. (The Washington Post)

August 25, 2015 - Almost four years of renovations at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City are nearly complete prior to Pope Francis' visit in September. Cardinal Timothy Dolan leads a brief tour of the cathedral. (CBS)
August 4, 2015 - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to its Archbishop, Jerome Listecki, reaches a collective settlement agreement of $21 million for its sex abuse claims, meaning it could emerge from its January 4, 2011 Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Archdiocese of Milwaukee),(AP)
July 14, 2015 - The Catholic Church in Taherpur, India is vandalized, and the caretaker is arrested. The church was desecrated on the night of July 9, according to Indian media reports. (India Express)
July 5, 2015 - Pope Francis begans his tri-nation visit to Latin America arriving in Ecuador. Next he travels to Bolivia from July 8–10 and Paraguay from July 10–12, and returning to Rome on July 13. (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), (Catholic News Agency), (CNA), (CNA)
June 27, 2015 - Pope Francis, in an Apostolic Letter, done "Motu Proprio" (Latin: "On his own initiative"), creates the Secretariat for Communications, the second such Secretariat he has created, after the earlier Secretariat for the Economy, as part of a reform of the Roman Curia (Secretariats are the highest level of Curial dicastery, or department). It will incorporate Vatican Information Service (VIS), the News.va and Pope apps, the Vatican Television Center, the Vatican.va website and .va domain name, the L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Holy See Press Office, Vatican Radio, and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He named the Reverend Monsignor Dario Edoardo Vigano, formerly the Vatican Television Center Director, as the first Prefect. (English translation of Vatican's text of the document), (English translation of the appointment), (Catholic News Agency)

June 18, 2015 - The Roman Catholic Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish on the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel is damaged by a suspected arson attack. (i24), (Haaretz), (Times of Israel), (BBC)
June 15, 2015 - The Vatican to hold first paedophilia trial
- The Vatican announces that the first hearing in the trial of Józef Wesołowski, a former papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic and a Polish former prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, is scheduled for July 11. (ABC News), (NPR)
June 10, 2015 - Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
- Pope Francis approves the outline of a new system giving power to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to judge bishops "with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors." (National Catholic Reporter)
June 5, 2015 - Prosecutors in the state of Minnesota file criminal charges against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for allegedly mishandling sexual abuse allegations by a priest. (New York Times)
May 24, 2015 - Laudato si' (English: Praise Be to You) is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle "on care for our common home". In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action". (The New York Times)
May 23, 2015 - The Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated at the start of the Salvadoran Civil War, is beatified in Pope Francis's name, by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in San Salvador. (White House) (CNN) (The Vatican)
May 17, 2015 - Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church canonises two saints from Palestine, Sister Mariam Baouardy and Sister Marie Alphonsine Ghattas. (AP, Ten Play)
May 13, 2015 - The Vatican concludes a treaty to recognize the Palestinian state. (The New York Times)
April 21, 2015 - Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Robert Finn as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph for failing to report a suspected child abuser. (AP, Yahoo! News)

At the May 2011
inauguration of
Mayor Emanuel

April 17, 2015 - Francis Eugene Cardinal George, who served as Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago and as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), dies after a multi-year battle with bladder and kidney cancer at age 78. (Chicago Tribune) (Archdiocese of Chicago)
March 25, 2015 - Pope Francis appoints Bishop Richard Moth of the British military diocese as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, England. The diocese had been vacant since September when Bishop Kieran Conry resigned. (Catholic News Agency)
March 17, 2015 - In Australia, the New South Wales Police charge the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, with allegedly covering up a child sexual abuse crime committed by another priest, James Fletcher, in the 1970s. (ABC)
March 5, 2015 - His Eminence, Edward Cardinal Egan, the immediate past Archbishop-Emeritus of New York, dies in New York City at the age of 82. (The New York Times)
February 26, 2015 - Norwegian police raid the offices of the Catholic Church's diocese in Oslo, charging the church administration with serious fraud under the suspicion of wrongfully claiming as much as NOK 50 million in state support by presenting fraudulent membership statistics. (NewsInEnglish.no)
February 14, 2015 - Pope Francis appoints twenty new cardinals resulting in a majority of members of the College of Cardinals being from outside Europe for the first time ever. (BBC News)
January 13-19, 2015 - Pope Francis visits Sri Lanka on January 13–15, and the Philippines (15–19). In Sri Lanka, he makes pastoral visits to Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu in Madhu and Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka. (VNS) His visit to the Philippines becomes the largest papal event in history with around 6–7 million attending his final mass at Manila surpassing the then largest papal event at World Youth Day 1995 in the same venue 20 years earlier. (BBC News)
January 4, 2015 - Pope Francis announces the appointment of 20 new Cardinals, many of them coming from outside of Europe. (Reuters)

2014[edit]

2014 News archive

December 25, 2014 – Urbi et Orbi:
- Pope Francis condemns the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria for violence against women, children, and ethnic minorities. (Catholic News Network)

December 11, 2014 – Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, announces that Pope Francis will hold a consistory for the creation of new cardinals Feb. 14-15, 2015. Fr. Lombardi spoke during a briefing with media at the end of the Council of Cardinals that met in the Vatican Dec. 9 – 11. (Catholic News Agency)
November 28, 2014 – Holy See–Turkey relations:
- Pope Francis visits Turkey, calling for interfaith dialogue and an end to Islamic extremism, and meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bartholomew I of Constantinople. (Agence France-Presse, The Times of India)
November 3, 2014 - Cardinal Timothy Dolan announces plans to merge 112 parishes: nearly one-third of the parishes in the New York archdiocese. Under the plan the 112 parishes will be merged into 55 consolidated parishes. (New York Times), (The Dialog)
October 19, 2014 - Pope Francis closes the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, a preparatory meeting which had as its theme the pastoral challenges to the family, with a Mass at the Vatican—with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and about 70,000 in attendance—featuring the beatification of Pope Paul VI, who concluded and implemented Vatican Council II and gained fame for writing the still-controversial Humanae Vitae sexual ethics encyclical. (MSN/Associated Press)
October 14, 2014 - The beatification for Pope Paul VI is held at Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis after the recognition of a miracle had been attributed to his intercession. (ANSA)
September 21, 2014 - Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Albania. (BBC News)

September 20, 2014 - Bishop Blase Cupich of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane is appointed by Pope Francis to succeed Cardinal Francis Eugene George, O.M.I., 77, who is ill with a recurrence of cancer, as Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. (New York Times)
September 5, 2014 - Israeli President Shimon Peres meets with Pope Francis at a time of mounting tension in the Middle East. The last meeting between the Pontiff and the Israeli leader came in June, when the Pope invited Peres, along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to join in a prayer service for peace. (Reuters)
August 16, 2014 - Pope Francis beatifies 124 Korean Catholics who died for their beliefs in the 19th century in Seoul. (The New York Times)

August 14-18, 2014 - Pope Francis arrives in Seoul Air Base, South Korea to start his five-day visit to South Korea on the occasion of the Sixth Asian Youth Day. (WSJ)
August 3, 2014 - Gunmen belonging to the predominantly Muslim Fulani tribe attack a Catholic parish in north-central Nigeria, according to a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The attack in Kaduna State and claimed the life of a guard and injured several worshippers. (Catholic World News)
July 27, 2014 - Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, formerly a priest of the Archdiocese of Turin, dies at the age of 85. With the cardinal's death, there are now 212 members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 118 are eligible to take part in the election of a pope. (Vatican Radio)
July 14, 2014 - Pope Francis sends greetings in a letter to Cardinal Ossa, the Special Envoy to the celebrations of the 3rd World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM III) at Bogota, Colombia, 15-19 August 2014. (Vatican, Pope Francis letters)
July 13, 2014 - Pope Francis appeals for peace in the Holy Land following his Angelus address at St. Peter’s Square. He exhorts all interested parties and all those with political responsibility not to spare efforts to achieve the cessation of all hostilities and the desired peace for the good of all. (Vatican Radio)
July 4, 2014 - On the final day of meetings of the Catholic Council of Cardinals, the group sets sights on the Pontifical Councils for the laity and the family, mentioning the potential inclusion of laity in those councils' tasks. This round of meetings, held July 1-4, was the fifth meeting of the council of cardinals. The next three sessions will take place Sep. 15-17, Dec. 9-11, and Feb. 9-11. (Catholic News Agency)
June 26, 2014 - The Catholic Synod of Bishops releases the instrumentum laboris, or working document, for the upcoming 3rd extraordinary general assembly, taking place from October 5 to 19. (Catholic World News)
June 8, 2014 - Pope Francis urges President Shimon Peres of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine to work for peace at an historic joint prayer meeting at the Vatican. (BBC News)
May 25, 2014 - Pope Francis invites the President of Israel Shimon Peres and the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas to pray with him at the Vatican for peace and the invitations are accepted. (AP, The Washington Post)
May 24, 2014 - Pope Francis arrives in Amman, Jordan, for the first day of a three day trip to the Middle East. (AP)
May 6, 2014 - Thirty young men join the ranks of the Swiss Guards today, taking an oath of allegiance to Pope Francis and promising to serve the Church by protecting him and his successors. Present at the guards' swearing-in are a number of Vatican dignitaries, the new Swiss ambassador to the Holy See, Pierre-Yves Fux, and Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. (Catholic News Agency)

April 27, 2014 - Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II
- Popes John XXIII and John Paul II are declared saints by Pope Francis in the first papal canonization since 1954. (Time) (Catholic News Network)
April 20, 2014 - Over 150,000 people turn out for Pope Francis' Easter mass, as Christians around the world observe the holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Time)
March 22, 2014 - The "Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors" is instituted by Pope Francis. The commission is an institution within the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church established to propose initiatives to protect children from pedophiles in the church.(Holy See Press Office)
March 9, 2014 - Swedish charismatic pastor Ulf Ekman, who established the Livets Ord ministry, breaks with his megachurch and converts to Roman Catholicism. (Charisma News)
February 24, 2014 - Pope Francis, in the most significant reform of the Roman Curia in 25 years, creates a second Secretariat, for Economic Affairs, headed by a Cardinal (which will work with the Vatican Secretariat of State, the reformed Vatican bank, or IOR, and the other economic departments of the Roman Curia), which will have an office with the power to audit any Vatican agency at any time. (AP, MSN News)
February 17, 2014 - The Vatican head of state, Pope Francis, renews his Argentine passport, reportedly asking not to enjoy any privilege. (La Nación)
January 12, 2014 - Pope Francis publicly releases the names of the 19 new Cardinals from 12 countries he will create in his first Consistory. This will occur during a meeting of the Cardinals on February 22. (News.VA Official Vatican Network)
January 3, 2014 - The people of Humboldt County, California, located on California's North Coast, are grieving the loss of Father Eric Freed. He was pastor of St. Bernard's Catholic Parish in Eureka who was murdered early on New Years’ Day. (Catholic News Agency)

2013[edit]

2013 News archive

December 25, 2013 - Pope Francis gives his first Urbi et Orbi speech calling for peace amidst the Syrian civil war and the 2013 South Sudan political crisis. (Al Jazeera)
December 24, 2013 - Pope Francis visits Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before celebrating his first Christmas Mass. (Slate)
December 11, 2013 - Time magazine names Pope Francis its Person of the Year. (Sky News)
December 2, 2013 - Pope Francis meets with the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu at the Vatican to discuss global affairs including the nuclear program of Iran. (USA Today)
November 24, 2013 - Pope Francis venerates the purported remains of his first ever predecessor, as the Vatican gives a public display for what some claim are St Peter's remains. (Guardian)
November 11, 2013 - Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, the longtime director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, from 1956 to 1997, dies at the age of 96. At the time of his death he was the 2nd-oldest living member of the College of Cardinals. (Catholic World News)
November 3, 2013 - The Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei is one of the youngest and smallest Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdictions in southeast Asia. About 10 percent of the population is atheist, 13 percent Buddhist, and a small number have indigenous beliefs. Christians, half of whom are Catholic, constitute 10 percent of Brunei's population. (Catholic News Agency)
October 25, 2013 - Pope Francis meets with Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea. During the African leader’s visit, he and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Secretary for Relations with States, signed a new diplomatic accord. (Catholic World News)
October 14, 2013 - The pastor of a Catholic parish in Northboro, Massachusetts, is removed after the Worcester diocese discovered more than $200,000 missing from parish accounts. (Catholic World News)
October 8, 2013 - Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi announces that the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be held from October 5 to19 in 2014, during which the bishops will reflect on the theme of “The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.” (Catholic World News), (Catholic News Agency)
October 1, 2013 - The Vatican summons all papal envoys in the nations of the Middle East to a special meeting in Rome this week, to discuss the crisis facing the Church in that region. (Catholic World News), (Reuters)
September 23, 2013 - In his first public statement since his resignation, former Pope Benedict XVI denies that he covered up child sexual abuse cases involving priests during his tenure. (Reuters)
September 16, 2013 - Cardinal Donald Wuerl joins "people of all faiths across our community in praying for the people killed and wounded in the attack at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C." A shooting at the Navy Yard in southeast Washington left 13 dead and about a dozen more injured. (Catholic News Agency)
September 5, 2013 - Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York says Islamic leaders should be challenged to speak out in condemnation of terrorists, Dolan hopes that Pope Francis will challenge Islamic leaders to “speak up in an effective way,” condemning violence. (Catholic World News)
August 28, 2013 - Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak warns foreign leaders not to use protecting Christians as an excuse to intervene in the current political violence in Egypt. (Catholic News Service)
August 12, 2013 - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Colombia announces that the capital city of Bogota will be the site of the third World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy, to be held Aug. 15-19, 2014. (Catholic News Agency)
August 2, 2013 - In his Ramadan message to Muslims, Pope Francis calls for mutual respect. The message is timed for the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, Since 1967, the Vatican has issued an annual greeting to the world’s Muslims on that date. (CNN)

July 28, 2013 - Pope Francis presides at the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2013 at Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach for a crowd estimated at 3-million. (Los Angeles Times)
July 23, 2013 - Tens of thousands of Roman Catholics greet Pope Francis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during his first foreign trip as pontiff. (BBC)
July 22, 2013 - Pope Francis begins a week-long official visit to Brazil, his first foreign trip since assuming the pontificate. (BBC)
July 19, 2013 - Pope Francis names a new Pontifical Commission to investigate current accounting practices among all Vatican offices and bodies and to help devise new strategies for greater fiscal responsibility and fiscal transparency. (Catholic News Service)
July 8, 2013 - Pope Francis visits the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, holds a mass to pay tribute to the many immigrants who have drowned trying to reach Europe and condemns the "global indifference" to their plight. (BBC), (The Guardian)
July 5, 2013
- Pope Francis publishes his first encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, on the importance of faith in a person's life. (CNN)
- Pope Francis approves the causes for canonization for his predecessors Bl. John XXIII and Bl. John Paul II. (Time)
July 2, 2013 - Pending approval from Pope Francis, reports that Pope John Paul II may be canonized at the end of the year are confirmed after approval by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints of an alleged second miracle. (CBS News)
June 23, 2013 - Syrian priest Fr. François Murad is killed at a convent in Gassanieh by militants in the Syrian civil war. (Agenzia Fides)
June 22, 2013 - U.S. president Barack Obama is accused of anti-Catholicism at home and in Northern Ireland for his remarks on Protestant and Catholic segregation of schools while visiting for the G8 summit earlier this week. (Irish Central)
June 16, 2013 - Pope Francis blesses thousands of Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts on the company's 110th anniversary. (The Australian)
June 4, 2013 - Pope Francis, on June 3, meets with Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni of Cilicia, the leader of the Armenian Catholic Church. The Armenian Patriarch was selected by the Armenian Synod in 1999, leads about 350,000 Armenian Catholics worldwide. (Catholic World News)
May 28, 2013 - Pope Francis plans to complete the encyclical on faith begun by his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (Catholic News Service)
May 25, 2013 - Thousands of people attend the beatification of Pino Puglisi, a Roman Catholic priest murdered by the Sicilian Mafia for speaking out against crime. (BBC), (Herald Sun)
May 16, 2013 - Pope Francis calls for worldwide "financial reform along ethical lines" to fight the "tyranny [of] financial speculation". (Irish Times)
May 12, 2013 - Pope Francis canonizes a record-breaking 800+ new Catholic Church saints - Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI had submitted the 813 "Martyrs of Otranto" who had been beheaded by Ottoman soldiers for refusing to convert to Islam. (Atlantic Wire), (Cleveland Leader)

May 10, 2013 - Cardinal Sean O'Malley (pictured), Archbishop of Boston, announces he will not attend commencement ceremonies at Boston College as the invited speaker, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, supports abortion legislation. (The Boston Globe)
May 5, 2013 - One person is dead and another 57 are injured after a bomb detonates inside a Roman Catholic church in Arusha, Tanzania. (Reuters)
May 2, 2013 - Two months after his resignation, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI returns to live in Vatican City at the Mater Ecclesiae. (BBC)
April 17, 2013 - Melkite-Greek Patriarch of Antioch Gregory III Laham estimates that over 1,000 Christians have been killed, and a further 400,000 have been displaced, as a result of the Syrian Civil War. (Christian Today)
April 11, 2013 - Servant of God Father Emil Kapaun is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as a United States Army chaplain during the Korean War. (U.S. News & World Report)
April 8, 2013 - The 95th plenary session of the Mexican Episcopal Conference begins in Mexico City. (Agenzia Fides)

April 5, 2013 - Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, calls for the end of violence and a political solution to the Syrian civil war (Free Syrian Army fighter pictured). (Asia News)
April 2, 2013 - The Partnership for Church Reconstruction in Haiti (PROCHE), a collaboration of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the French Episcopal Conference, and the German Episcopal Conference, announces that church rebuilding following the 2010 Haiti earthquake is moving forward at a faster rate. (Catholic News Service)
March 28, 2013 - Pope Francis names Mario Poli, formerly Bishop of Santa Rosa, as his successor as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. (GlobalPost)
March 19, 2013 - The inauguration of Pope Francis takes place in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City. (RTÉ News)

March 13, 2013 - Pope Francis (pictured), formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, is elected pope, concluding the papal conclave. (The Globe and Mail)
March 12, 2013 - The cardinal electors take the oath of secrecy and close the doors to the Sistine Chapel, ceremonially beginning the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (CNN)
March 8, 2013 - The College of Cardinals determines the conclave to elect Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's successor will begin on Tuesday, March 12. (The New York Times)
March 7, 2013 - The final cardinal elector, Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, arrives in Vatican City, allowing the College of Cardinals to set a date to start the conclave. (CBC News)

February 28, 2013 - The Holy See is vacant (coat of arms sede vacante pictured), as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI becomes the first pope in almost 600 years to resign the papacy. (Vatican Radio)
February 25, 2013
- Pope Benedict XVI issues a motu proprio amending canon law to allow the cardinals to begin the conclave to elect his successor earlier than normally allowed, if all the cardinal electors are present. (Financial Times)
- Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, resigns amid reports of inappropriate behavior, and states he will not participate in the upcoming conclave. (The Independent)
February 14, 2013 - Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore testifies before the Maryland General Assembly, calling for an end to the death penalty in the state. (Catholic News Agency)

February 11, 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI (pictured) announces his resignation as pope, effective February 28. (Catholic News Service)
February 8. 2013 - Cardinal Giovanni Cheli, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, dies at age 94. (Gazzetta del Sud)
February 1, 2013
- Archeparch Louis Sako of Kirkuk is elected Patriarch of Babylon, succeeding Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly as Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church. (AP)
- Archbishop of Los Angeles José Gómez releases church documents related to sexual abuse cases in the archdiocese. (Zenit)
January 18, 2013 - Cardinal Antonios Naguib resigns as Patriarch of Alexandria and head of the Coptic Catholic Church, at the age of 77. The Coptic Synod, with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI, elects Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak to replace him. (Vatican Information Service), (Catholic News Agency)
January 7, 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI addresses ambassadors and diplomats from nearly 180 countries gathered in the Apostolic Palace’s Sala Regia. They are present for the Pope’s traditional address to members of the diplomatic corps who are accredited to the Holy See. Pope Benedict urges an end to the “slaughter” in Syria and stresses the “grave responsibility” to work for peace around the world. (Catholic News Agency)

2012[edit]

2012 News archive

December 27, 2012 - Catholic figurehead Seán Brady's intervention in Ireland's abortion debate draws harsh criticism from legislators and more calls for the Church to transfer the rest of the compensation it promised for those abused by priests, but has not yet paid. (Irish Independent)
December 25, 2012 -
- Pope Benedict XVI delivers the annual Christmas message at Saint Peter's Square and holds the traditional Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. (BBC) (Sky News) (Herald Net)
- Pope Benedict XVI calls for a political solution to the conflict in Syria during his Christmas message, delivered to thousands of pilgrims in Vatican City. (BBC News) (The Guardian) (Reuters)
- Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, criticises the UK government's plans for gay marriage as a "shambles", saying they do not have a mandate to introduce the policy. (BBC) (The Guardian)
- In his Christmas Day message, Seán Brady, the controversial head of Ireland's Catholic hierarchy, calls upon his flock to continue their opposition to abortion. In the wake of the death of Savita Halappanavar, the Indian dentist recently denied an abortion of her dying foetus by Ireland's conservative laws, the country's government is once again to attempt to legislate for the 1992 X Case in the coming year, with Ireland the only remaining EU state to outlaw the procedure. (Daily Mail) (RTÉ News) (The Irish Times)

December 3, 2012 - In Brazil, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, speaks to a group of World Youth Day delegates from 75 countries and 40 movements. He hopes World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro will have a lasting effect on the hundreds of thousands of young people slated to attend. (Catholic News Agency)
November 24, 2012 - DUP leader and Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson dismisses calls from Sinn Féin for a Scotland-style referendum on independence for Northern Ireland, telling his party's annual conference that a majority of Catholics want Northern Ireland to stay part of the United Kingdom. (BBC)
November 14, 2012 - The death of a pregnant woman from septicaemia in an Irish hospital prompts international outrage, protests and condemnation. University College Hospital Galway refused numerous requests from Savita Halappanavar and her family for an abortion on the grounds that "this is a Catholic country." (The Independent) (Irish Independent) (NDTV)
November 4, 2012 - Bishop Tawadros is selected as the new 118th pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church. (BBC News)
October 28, 2012 - Ten people are killed and over 100 injured after a suicide bombing and reprisal attacks close to a Catholic church in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. (BBC)
October 25, 2012 - Bishop Richard Williamson, because of his opposition to dialogue and his Holocaust denial, is expelled from the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) by its superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay. The SSPX is a formerly breakaway ultra-conservative Roman Catholic society founded by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre that is critical of many of the changes in the Church brought about by Vatican Council II. (Catholic News Service)
October 24, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI announces a 24 November 2012 Consistory for the creation of six new Cardinals: James Michael Harvey, Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, Baselios Cleemis, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Jesús Salazar Gómez, and Luis Antonio Tagle. (Catholic Herald) (The Hindu)

October 21, 2012 - At St. Peter's Square Pope Benedict XVI canonized a group of seven as saints, including Kateri Tekakwitha, who would be the first Native American saint. (The New York Times)
October 7, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI names John of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen the 34th and 35th doctors of the Catholic church. (The Washington Post)
September 22, 2012 - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne confirms the sexual abuse of more than 600 children by its priests since the 1930s. Bishop Denis Hart deplores the "figures" as "horrific and shameful". Activists say the true number, in Victoria alone, is closer to 10,000. (BBC)
September 14, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI visits Lebanon. (Fox News)
September 1, 2012 - Former progressive Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini describes the Catholic Church as "200 years behind the times" in an interview published the day after his death. (CNN)
August 21, 2012 - Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia unveiles a new school system to be run by an independent Catholic foundation. The Faith in the Future Foundation will serve the archdiocese's high schools and special education programs. (Catholic News Agency)
August 19, 2012 - Scotland's Roman Catholic leader Cardinal Keith O'Brien suspends direct communication with the Scottish government on same-sex marriage. (BBC News)
August 13, 2012 - The Vatican orders Pope Benedict XVI's former butler to stand trial for his alleged involvement in leaking allegations of corruption in the Holy See. (Reuters)
July 27, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI appoints bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone ninth Metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco (Archdiocese of San Francisco)
July 21, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI's butler, Paolo Gabriele, is placed under house arrest while awaiting trial for allegedly leaking confidential papers revealing fraud and disputes within the Vatican. (AFP via Google News)
July 4, 2012 - China accuses the Vatican of obstructing the development of Catholicism after the latter threatens to excommunicate new bishops ordained without papal approval. (The Washington Post)
June 26, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI visits areas in Italy affected by the Emilia-Romagna earthquake. (VNS)
June 25, 2012 - The United States Supreme Court rules that the sentence of life imprisonment without parole cannot be automatically given to a minor at all, extending its earlier restrictions on its automatic use in cases involving minors. (Catholic News)
June 24, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI chooses Fox News reporter and Opus Dei member Greg Burke to take a strategic communication role in the Vatican's most important government department, the secretariat of state. (The Guardian)

June 11, 2012 - The 50th International Eucharistic Congress opens in Dublin with an address by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and a Mass in a sports stadium, the RDS Arena. (Catholic News Agency)
May 28, 2012 - Following the UN Committee Against Torture's condemnation of the Irish government's failure to acknowledge and assist former detainees of the country's Catholic-run Magdalene asylums, the Justice for Magdalenes campaign group announces its discovery that women were transferred from State-funded mother and baby homes to Magdalene laundries, where they were held against their will and without their children. (RTÉ)
May 26, 2012 - The Vatican confirms that the butler to Pope Benedict XVI has been arrested for allegedly leaking confidential documents. (AP, The Washington Post)
May 10, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI meets with a delegation from the Latin American Jewish Congress, and speaks about progress in relations between the two faiths in the past 50 years. (Catholic World News)
May 3, 2012 - A 70-year-old widow, who is a mother of three and grandmother of five, makes her solemn vows as a Poor Clare contemplative nun in the town of Canals in Spain. (Catholic News Agency)
April 24, 2012 - South Sudan
- Security officials in Sudan arrest three Catholic aid workers and close down the office of Caritas in South Darfur as the three were traveling to South Sudan. (Catholic Radio Network)
April 20, 2012 - To mark Pope Benedict XVI’s 85th birthday, a concert is held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. The managing director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig states that playing for the Pope is the pinnacle of the orchestra’s history. (Catholic News Agency)
April 12, 2012 - The Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford and the Vatican Library announce they will make 1.5 million pages of ancient texts available on the Internet. (Vatican Radio)
April 8, 2012 - 2011–2012 Syrian uprising
- In his annual Easter message from the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI calls particularly for "an end to the bloodshed" in Syria. (CNN)
- At least 40 people are reported killed across Syria ahead of the Tuesday deadline for Syrian armed forces to withdraw from cities, as part of a peace plan brokered by U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. (Catholic News Network)

March 27, 2012 - During a personal meeting, Pope Benedict XVI asks Cuban President Raúl Castro to recognize Good Friday as a holiday in the country over its importance for the Catholic calendar. (Catholic News Agency)
March 26-29, 2012 - Pastoral visits of Pope Benedict XVI
- March 26, 2012 - As he arrives in Cuba to begin a three day visit there, Pope Benedict XVI offers a prescription for change. (Catholic World News)
- Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Cuba to begin his three day visit to the country. (Reuters)
March 23, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Mexico and is greeted by thousands in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, and is also greeted by President Felipe Calderón. (BBC)
March 23-29, 2012 - Pastoral visits of Pope Benedict XVI
- In a pastoral visit Pope Benedict XVI travels to Mexico (March 23-26) and Cuba (March 26-29). The Pope arrived in Mexico in the city of León, Guanajuato and is greeted by a crowd of about 4,000 people and is officially welcomed by President Calderón and first lady Margarita Zavala. (OEM) In Cuba, he secures the observance of Good Friday as a holiday in the country during 2012, for the first time since the Revolution, a favor he personally requests of President Raúl Castro. (VOA)
- During his pastoral visit in Mexico the Pope Benedict XVI is expected to address the problem of drug trafficking and the associated violence. (Catholic World News), (National Catholic Reporter), (Time)
March 12, 2012 - The loose-knit group of hackers known as Anonymous launch a second attack on the Vatican website. The vice director of the Holy See's Press Office, Father Ciro Benedettini, says the initial March 7 attack was not successful, failing in its attempt to bring the site down. (Catholic News Agency)
March 5, 2012 - Archbishop Anatole Milandou of Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, reports that the church of St. Louis des Francais was completely leveled by a series of blasts that came from a nearby military base on Sunday morning, March 4. (Catholic World News)
March 4, 2012 - Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland and Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, criticises government plans to allow Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom. (BBC)
February 21, 2012 - Christian Life Movement spokesman Regis Iglesias Ramirez in Cuba announces the launch of a new Facebook page called “Waiting for Benedict XVI” to promote the pontiff's upcoming visit and defend the right of all Cubans to welcome him. (Catholic News Agency)

February 18, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI formally appoints 22 new Cardinals. (Catholic News Network)
- The Pope also announces seven new saints, including the first native American saint Kateri Tekakwitha from the US state of New York. (CNN)
- An internal plot among cardinals to kill Pope Benedict XVI is alleged in Italy. (The Guardian)
February 3, 2012 - Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States
- The Archdiocese of Milwaukee faces 550 abuse claims in bankruptcy proceeding. The archdiocese has asked the court to dismiss up to 95% of the claims, saying that they are excluded by the statute of limitations or because the alleged molesters were not priests. (Catholic World News), (New York Times)
January 23, 2012 - Tens of thousands of pro-life activists brave the weather in Washington, DC to participate in the 39th annual March for Life. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia addresses a conference at Georgetown University on the day before the March. (Catholic World News), (Catholic News Agency), (Catholic News Agency)
January 16, 2012 - Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, emphasizes that the presence of Catholics on the internet is essential. Archbishop Celli made his comments at Mercy University in Fribourg during a meeting organized by the Swiss Bishops' Conference and the Swiss Press League. The event was held in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the pastoral instruction on social communications, “Communio et Progressio.” (Catholic News Agency)
January 5, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI appoints a new head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, one of the Vatican’s three top tribunals. Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, who is serving as secretary for the Congregation for Bishops, becomes the new Penitentiary Major. He succeeds Cardinal Fortunato Baldelli, who is retiring at the age of 76. (Catholic World News), (Vatican Information Service)

2011[edit]

2011 News archive

December 25, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI delivers the annual Christmas message at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City. (Catholic News Network)
October 28, 2011: Leaders of the 16 countries which have the British monarch as their head of state agree to change succession laws so that sons and daughters of the monarch have equal succession rights and can marry a Roman Catholic. (BBC News) (The Telegraph)
September 22, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI commences a state visit to Germany. (The Telegraph)
August 8, 2011 - Pope Benedict XVI issues a new appeal for an end to bloodshed in Syria, and added a plea for peace in Libya. (Catholic World News)
August 4, 2011 - As Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela welcomes Pope Benedict XVI to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain. In 1989 he led WYD celebrations there and welcomed Pope John Paul II. (Catholic World News)
August 2, 2011 - Fifteen people are wounded in a bombing of a Syrian Catholic Church in Kirkuk, Iraq. (Agence France-Presse, Yahoo! News)
July 18, 2011: The Vatican and Malaysia establish diplomatic relations. (Bernama) (AP, Google News)
July 13, 2011: Bishop John Magee, a former private secretary of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II, is found to have deliberately misled an inquiry into child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. (RTÉ) (The Belfast Telegraph)

June 29, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI launches a new Vatican website, news.va, and performs the first tweet by a pope. (Agence France-Presse, Herald-Sun)
June 4-5, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI visits Croatia. He travels to Zagreb and prays at the tomb of Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac. (Catholic News Service)
May 16, 2011: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican tells Roman Catholics to cooperate with police in investigating alleged cases of sexual abuse by clergy. (AP)

April 29, 2011: The formal beatification ceremony for Pope John Paul II is taking place on May 1, 2011, on the Central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after his death on April 2, 2005. (BBC News)
April 24, 2011: At least 4 people are wounded at the entrance of a Catholic church after Easter Mass in Baghdad. (BBC News)
April 22, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI becomes the first pontiff to take part in a televised question-and-answer session, a pre-recorded programme for Italian television. (BBC) (The Guardian)
March 20, 2012 - For the United States, Pope Benedict XVI appoints new bishops for the dioceses of Baltimore, Maryland; Rockford, Illinois; and Tallahassee-Pensacola, Florida. (Catholic News Agency)
March 10, 2011: The Cuban Roman Catholic Church claims that the Government of Cuba plans to release 10 dissidents including Óscar Elías Biscet. (AP, San Francisco Chronicle)
March 2, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI exonerates the Jewish people for the responsibility for the death of Jesus in his book Jesus of Nazareth Part II. (AP, Yahoo! News)
February 11, 2011: World Youth Day 2011 organizers announce Pope Benedict XVI’s schedule of activities for the multi-day event, which will take place Aug. 18-21 in Madrid, Spain. (Catholic News Agency)
February 5, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI ordains five new bishops, including a Chinese prelate from Hong Kong despite attempts by China's official church to ordain bishops without his approval. (AP, Google News)
January 15, 2011: In Westminster Cathedral, three Anglican bishops are ordained as Catholic priests. (The Guardian)
January 2, 2011: Hundreds of Coptic Christians protest in Alexandria and Cairo and shout slogans against Hosni Mubarak's rule following the church bombing, where some people held mass. Egyptian media warns of civil war and increasing sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims, and Pope Benedict XVI publicly condemns the bombing. (Agence Presse-France) (Ahram Online) (Stuff.co.nz) (Miami Herald) (Ahlul Bayt News Agency)
January, 2011: Catholic theology professors start a memorandum Church 2011. (Church 2011)

2010[edit]

2010 News archive

November 6 to 7, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI visits two cities in Spain: Santiago de Compostela on November 6 for the occasion of Jacobeo Holy Year; and Barcelona on November 7 to consecrate Sagrada Família church. (BBC News) (Zenit)
October 17, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI canonizes André Bessette, a French-Canadian; Stanislaw Soltys, a 15th-century Polish priest; Italian nuns Giulia Salzano and Camilla Battista da Varano; Spanish nun Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola and the first Australian saint, Mother Mary MacKillop. (Aol News)
September 19, 2010: During his visit to the United Kingdom, Pope Benedict XVI personally proclaims the beatification of John Henry Newman. (BBC News)
June 30, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI creates of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, appointing Archbishop Rino Fisichella as its first president. (Catholic News Agency) (Holy See)
May 11 to 14, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI visits Portugal and presides over the religious ceremonies at the Marian Sanctuary of Fatima. (Holy See) (ABC News) The number of pilgrims attending the Pope's Mass in Fátima was estimated at 500,000. (Catholic News Agency)
March 19, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI sends a Pastoral Letter to the Catholic Church in Ireland addressing cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests to minors, expressing sorrow, and promising changes in the way accusations of abuse are dealt with. (Holy See) (CNN)
February 20, 2010: The fourth annual Clericus Cup kicks off in Rome with the Pontifical North American College defeating the Collegio Pio-Brasiliano in a shootout. (Catholic News Agency)
February 19, 2010: At an ordinary consistory, Pope Benedict XVI announces that six beatified Catholics will be canonized on October 17. The six are Stanislaw Soltys, Can. Reg. Lat.; Andre Bessette, C.S.C.; Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola, F.J.; Mary MacKillop, R.S.J.; Giulia Salzano, S.C.S.C, and Battista da Varano, O.S.C.. (VIS)

February 13, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Dominik Duka, OP (pictured), Bishop of Hradec Králové, as the new Archbishop of Prague. (AP)
February 12, 2010: The Pave the Way Foundation will digitize and publish online a collection of documents from the Vatican Secret Archives concerning Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church's activities during World War II. (ZENIT)
January 26, 2010: Caritas Internationalis has raised over US$60 million in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake and are delivering 100 tonnes of food to feed 50,000 survivors in Port-au-Prince. (Reuters)
January 18, 2010: Pope Benedict XVI names Bishop André-Mutien Léonard of Namur to be the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium. (Catholic News Agency)
January 12, 2010: Joseph Serge Miot, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, is killed when his office collapses during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Trinidad & Tobago (Newsday)
January 4, 2010: The American Astronomical Society awards the George Van Biesbroeck Prize to Father George Coyne, SJ, the former director of the Vatican Observatory. (The Baltimore Sun)

2009[edit]

2009 News archive

December 24, 2009: French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray suffers a fractured hip in an attack on Pope Benedict XVI (pictured) by a Swiss woman at the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. (Los Angeles Times)
December 19, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI approves decrees of heroic virtue for nine Servants of God, including his predecessors Pius XII and John Paul II, granting them the title venerable, and advancing their causes for sainthood. (The Sunday Times), (ZENIT)
December 3, 2009: Following a meeting in the Apostolic Palace, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Pope Benedict XVI agree to upgrade Kremlin–Vatican relations to full diplomatic ties with a Russian embassy to the Holy See and an apostolic nuncio in Moscow. (BBC News)

December 2, 2009: American Cardinal John Patrick Foley announces that after 25 years, he will no longer provide English language commentary during broadcasts of the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass from St. Peter's Basilica (interior pictured). (Catholic News Service)
November 27, 2009: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe authorizes Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos to negotiate with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for the release of hostages. (Colombia Reports)
November 22, 2009: Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas is beatified by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal in a ceremony at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. (The Jerusalem Post)
November 9, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI publishes the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, establishing personal ordinariates for groups of Anglicans who seek to enter full communion with the Catholic Church. (Rome Reports)

October 24, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI names Cardinal Peter Turkson (pictured) of Ghana as the new president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (AP)
October 20, 2009: Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, announced that Pope Benedict XVI is preparing an Apostolic constitution to normalize the process of former Anglicans who wish to enter full communion with the Holy See. (VIS)
October 11, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI canonized five saints in a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica; the five are Archbishop Zygmunt Szcezesny Felinski, Father Damien De Veuster SS.CC., Sister Jeanne Jugan L.S.P., Friar Francisco Coll y Guitart O.P., and Brother Rafael Arnaiz Baron O.C.S.O. (CNN)
September 27, 2009: Around 120,000 people attended a Mass in Brno that concluded a visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic. (Reuters)
September 10, 2009: Hundreds of Catholic protesters blocked a highway in Bangalore following an early-morning vandalism and arson attack on St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in the city. (Times of India)

September 9, 2009: A relic of Blessed Damien of Molokai (pictured) will be returned to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, where Father Damien was ordained to the priesthood, following his canonization on October 11. The relic, which is currently in Belgium, will visit a number of cities in the mainland United States before touring the Hawaiian Islands and being reinterred in the Cathedral in Honolulu. (ZENIT)
September 8, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI approves the beatification of five Servants of God during October and November, Eustachio Kugler of Germany, Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás of Spain, Carlo Gnocchi of Italy, Zoltan Lajos Meszlenyi of Hungary, and Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas of Jerusalem. (ZENIT)
August 18, 2009: Several bishops from the United States, including Cardinal Sean O'Malley, visit the bishops of Cuba and call for the lifting of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. (Agence France-Presse)
June 2, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI appoints Italian Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli as the Major Penitentiary, replacing American Cardinal James Stafford. (Catholic News Service)
June 1, 2009: American bishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport has filed suit in Federal court against the State of Connecticut, seeking that the classification of the diocese as a "lobbying organization", following a protest organized by the diocese at the state capital, be overturned as a violation of the diocese's First Amendment rights. (Catholic News Service)
May 26, 2009: Friars of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) gather in Assisi for their 187th general chapter, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the order's founding, and to elect a new minister-general. (ZENIT)

March 22, 2009: The Polish media reports that the cause for beatification of Pope John Paul II (pictured) has been concluded at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and that the late pontiff could be beatified as early as April 2, 2010, the fifth anniversary of his death.(Catholic News Agency), (National Catholic Register)
March 8, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI (pictured) will visit Israel, Palestine, and Jordan in May. (BBC News)
February 23, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI names Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as the successor of Cardinal Edward Egan as the next Archbishop of New York. (AP)

February 4, 2009: Holy Name Cathedral (pictured), the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, suffers extensive fire and water damage during an early-morning three-alarm fire. (Chicago Sun-Times)
January 24, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated in 1988 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. (Catholic News Agency)

January 14, 2009: The Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone (pictured), will visit Spain in early February to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Zenit)
January 9, 2009: A crowd estimated at 3 million participate in the annual procession of the Black Nazarene statue in Manila. (inquirer.net)
January 6, 2009: Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, calls for a cease-fire in Gaza so that the injured can obtain health care. (Catholic News Service)

2008[edit]

2008 News archive

December 18, 2008: The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference calls for Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, to step down. ((Catholic News Service))
July 21, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI holds a special mass in Sydney for victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic Church clergy. (Al-Jazeera)
July 20, 2008: 500,000 people attend the closing mass of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, who announces Madrid as the host city for the next World Youth Day in 2011. (Sydney Morning Herald)
July 19, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI apologizes to victims of abuse by Roman Catholic Church clergy in Australia during a mass in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. (BBC News)
July 17, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI speaks to 150,000 pilgrims in Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. (The Age)
July 13, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day 2008 celebrations. (Sydney Morning Herald)

May 22, 2008: Donor gives 20 million dollars to save Saint Brigid's Roman Catholic Church (The New York Times)
May 21,2008: The Vatican announces growth of the church in Africa (The Christian Post)

May 16,2008: Pope Benedict XVI composes a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan following with a declaration that May 24 would be a day for prayer for China (Catholic World News)
May 15, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI says God could have made life on other planets. (Daily Mail)
May 5, 2008: The Church recognized a lengthy series of Marian apparitions which are said to have occurred Saint-Étienne-le-Laus between 1664 and 1718.(Catholic World News)
May 5, 2008: The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (pictured) meets Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.(Catholic World News)
April 29, 2008: French bishops confirm a visit from Pope Benedict XVI to France.(Catholic News Agency)
April 29, 2008: A lawyer in the Philippines files a criminal complaint against Pope Benedict XVI and Manila Cardinal Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales.(Philippine Daily Inquirer)
April 17, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI travels around Washington.(VOA News)
April 16, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the United States.(USA Today)

2007[edit]

2007 News archive

December 23: With 862,000 worshippers, who attended Catholic mass each week compared to 852,000 who went to Church of England services, Roman Catholics have overtaken Anglicans in church attendance in Britain. (Financial Times)
Tony Blair
December 23: United States Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee angered Catholic voters by courting a controversial preacher accused of disparaging Catholics. (Reuters)
December 22: Tony Blair, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, was received into the Roman Catholic Church. (Times Oniline)