De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

In a wide ranging interview with the Jesuit publication America Magazine , Pope Francis has spoken about some of the key issues and criticisms of his pontificate as well as offering his perspective on female ordination, the abuse crisis and racism. Well sort of. If you can make sense of some of his answers you're a brighter man/woman than me. But it is interesting in lots of ways; the assembled Jesuits don't hold back in terms of the questions they ask and the Holy Father does give some interesting responses. Asked about the growing political polarisation in the US, the pope warned of a divisive mentality suggesting that to be Catholic is to always harmonise differences. He explains that the way the Holy Spirit acts is first to cause disorder (giving the example of Pentecost) and then to bring about harmony. “The Holy Spirit in the church does not reduce everything to just one value; rather, it harmonises opposing differences. That is the Catholic spirit. The more harmony t...

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has published it's report into Birmingham Archdiocese. This report is extremely important because it involves Cardinal Nichols. We've published our report on child sexual abuse (CSA) within the Archdiocese of Birmingham. https://t.co/ZKdLPHKyNl Part of the #CatholicInvestigation , it investigates the response of the Archdiocese of Birmingham to CSA by examining 4 case studies. 1/4 #BirminghamReport pic.twitter.com/bz1DyZZygi — InquiryCSA (@InquiryCSA) June 20, 2019 Since the mid 1930s, there have been over 130 allegations of child sexual abuse made against no fewer than 78 individuals associated with the Archdiocese - many of them priests and deacons. 2/4 #BirminghamReport #InquiryCSA pic.twitter.com/9tibOwKIwt — InquiryCSA (@InquiryCSA) June 20, 2019 It finds that the response of the then Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols - now a Cardinal, was “misplaced and missed the point”, by choosing to defe...

Yesterday, Marie Collins, former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors posted an open response to Cardinal Müller's dismissal of her allegations that his office apparently refused to reply to letters from victims of clergy sexual abuse, a decision which led Collins, the only abuse survivor on the pontifical commission about the matter, to resign her post. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said in an interview  with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper , it is "a misunderstanding" to think that his office "could deal with all the dioceses and religious orders in the world." "It is good that personal contact with victims be done by pastors in their area,"  Müller said "When a letter arrives, we always ask the bishop that he might take pastoral care of the victim, clarifying to him or her that the Congregation will do all that is possible to give justice." Having the Vat...

In an hour long question and answer session with journalists on the way home from his visit to the Holy Land, Pope Francis has described the crime of child abuse as a betrayal of the Lord’s body: "Sexual abuse is such an ugly crime ... because a priest who does this betrays the body of the Lord. It is like a satanic Mass," At a briefing in the Vatican on Tuesday, Father Lombardi discussed some of the highlights of Pope Francis’ interview and explained that for a believer, equating the crime of sexually abusing a child with the sacrilege of celebrating a satanic mass, is arguably the strongest possible condemnation. I agree and I think his turn of phrase here articulates a basic truth about this sort of crime: it is diametrically opposed to everything the Church holds and teaches. Abuse does so much harm, literally destroying lives. This is true in any context, but surely more especially in the context of love and trust which constitutes the relationship of a priest...

I could certainly never be accused of being a worshipper at the altar of celebrity, I have always found it somewhat distasteful and tended to shy away from any opportunity to even brush with it in any of its guises or, indeed, with any of its priests and priestesses. Still, one man that I have met was Jimmy Savile. It was at a West End Hotel, for the annual Across Trust fund-raising event. Over the course of the evening I eventually bumped into Jim and had a brief chat with him. He wasn't hugely amiable, and this, though understandable, is a huge turn off for me. I tend to see it as hubris, and this is one reason why I steer well clear of anyone famous. However, in light of current revelations, I shudder for Savile if there is a shred of truth in any of the accusations ( Luke 17:2 ). My friend Caroline Farrow has some really important things to say about this: The torrent of indignation flying from high profile Catholics at the Telegraph,in the direction of the BBC fo...