News in Church News

Pope Francis appoints a new bishop for Brentwood Diocese

Pope Francis appoints a new bishop for Brentwood Diocese

by: Reporters - Catholic News Agency in Church News,

 Pope Francis has appointed Father Alan Williams SM, currently the Director of the National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, as the seventh Bishop of Brentwood. His episcopal ordination will take place at Brentwood Cathedral on 1st July 2014 at 12 noon. The bishop-elect was born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1951. He took final vows in the Society of Mary [Marist Fathers] in 1981 and was ordained priest in St Anne’s Whitechapel in 1983.

Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest abducted in Crimea

Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest abducted in Crimea

by: Vatican Radio in Church News,

 (Vatican Radio) In a serious escalation of tension in Crimea, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest was kidnapped on Saturday. Sources in Ukraine say Father Mykola Kvych, a pastor and a Ukrainian military chaplain, was abducted by pro-Russian forces after celebrating the liturgy.

First Great Change in Roman Curia

First Great Change in Roman Curia

by: Roman Curia in Church News,

The first major change made by Pope Francis in the permanent structure of the Roman Curia is the establishment of a Segreteria per l'Economia (Secretariat for the Economy) to oversee and assemble all financial and economic operations of all administrative affairs of the Holy See - details to be known shortly in a motu proprio published this afternoon in the Tuesday edition ofL'Osservatore Romano.

Profile: Cardinal-designate Vincent Nichols

Profile: Cardinal-designate Vincent Nichols

by: Sam Jones - The Guardian in Church News,

 Archbishop of Westminster, leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales and critic of the government's austerity cuts. Archbishop Vincent Nichols speaks to reporters in the week before his is to be made a cardinal by Pope Francis. 

Archbishop Nichols appointed to Congregation for Bishops

Archbishop Nichols appointed to Congregation for Bishops

by: Ed West - The Catholic Herald in Church News,

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Vincent Nichols to the Congregation for Bishops. Archbishop Vincent said: “It is a privilege to assist in the important task of appointing Bishops and I am honoured to have been asked to undertake this role by Pope Francis. I look forward to making whatever contribution I can to the work of the Apostolic See.”

Pope Francis throws the doors of the Church wide open

Pope Francis throws the doors of the Church wide open

by: Fr Frank Brennan, SJ in Church News,

Pope Francis has published his first and very prolix papal teaching document entitled Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of Evangelization). With a tone of delightful self-mocking he observes, "I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten."

A New Bishop for Plymouth!

A New Bishop for Plymouth!

by: Reporters in Church News,

Mgr O’Toole’s piscopal ordination will take place at 2pm on Tuesday 28 January 2014 at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface in Plymouth. He will succeed Bishop Christopher Budd, who has been Bishop of Plymouth since 1986.

Pope Francis Launches Survey on Modern Catholics

Pope Francis Launches Survey on Modern Catholics

by: By Joel Himelfarb - NewsMax in Church News,

Pope Francis is surveying Catholics on family issues including homosexual marriage and divorce in preparation for next year's bishop synod, according to NBC News.Veteran Vatican observers say the survey is remarkable on a number of levels in that it deals with subjects previous Popes appeared to regard as off-limits and seeks feedback from rank-and-file Catholics.

The Council of Cardinals: A New Constitution for the Curia

The Council of Cardinals: A New Constitution for the Curia

by: VISnews in Church News,

The reform of the Curia and the attribution of of more incisive role to the laity were among the principal themes considered in the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, instituted by the Pope to assist him in the governance of the Church, said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., in a briefing with journalists.

Cardinals' summit shapes up as potential turning point

Cardinals' summit shapes up as potential turning point

by: John L. Allen Jr. is NCR in Church News,

The Oct. 1-3 maiden summit of eight cardinals from around the world, tapped by the pope to advise him on governance and reform, profiles as a potentially critical turning point. An ongoing cleanup of Vatican finances; Reorganization, and potential downsizing, of the Vatican bureaucracy; Ensuring that the right people end up in the right Roman jobs; Vexed pastoral questions such as annulments and divorced and remarried Catholics.

Pope names Vatican official as successor to Cardinal Keith O’Brien

Pope names Vatican official as successor to Cardinal Keith O’Brien

by: The Catholic Herald in Church News,

Pope Francis has named Mgr Leo Cushley as the new Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The appointment was announced at noon today in Rome. The archbishop-elect succeeds Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who led the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 until his resignation in February.

Hume knew Alan Hopes would one day be bishop

Hume knew Alan Hopes would one day be bishop

by: The Tablet - Fr Mark Woodruff in Church News,

Cardinal Basil Hume came to check how we had got on and emerged saying, 'Coraggio - you have all passed. And from what I hear [from what was said in the interviews], one of you is going to be a bishop.' It was clear to us that he meant Alan Hopes, who this week Pope Francis announced would be the next Bishop of East Anglia.

Don't be fooled by official promises, says cardinal

Don't be fooled by official promises, says cardinal

by: UCA News in Church News,

Cardinal John Baptist Pham Minh Man, 79, said the authorities state that their policies aim to ensure social order and security. But he said that “they govern the country with self-defence instincts, fearing for their own interests, rather than searching for humanitarian goodwill.”