A German report's faulting of retired Pope Benedict XVI's handling of four cases of clergy sexual abuse in the 1970s and '80s has sparked shocked reactions among victims' advocates, theologians, and even Vatican officials.
Analysis: Typically, new cardinals join current cardinals in Rome for the consistory. Canon lawyers say that Pope Francis could conduct the ceremony without cardinals from other countries because of COVID-19.
Distinctly Catholic:Voting and Faithfulness is a helpful contribution to discussions Catholics should be having about what it means to form our consciences and what it means to be a faithful citizen.
It is a bit early to assess the effect of Pope Francis' new global system for how the Catholic Church evaluates reports of clergy sexual abuse or cover-up by individual bishops, say canon lawyers.
Distinctly Catholic: By the 1980s, it was clear that conservative Catholics were firmly in the Republican camp and more liberal Catholics stayed with the Democrats.
Several prominent canon lawyers are praising Pope Francis' decision to abolish the practice of imposing strict confidentiality rules on the Vatican's legal proceedings in cases involving clergy sexual abuse or misconduct.
Among two main possibilities canonists discussed: Francis could issue new norms allowing bishops to deviate from the church canon requiring clerics to remain celibate, or he could invite the bishops to appeal to the Vatican on a case-by-case basis.
Pope Francis has named Archbishop Wilton Gregory to lead the Washington Archdiocese, placing the prelate who guided the development of the U.S. bishops' procedures on clergy sexual abuse at the helm of a church that has been convulsed by abuse scandals over the past year.
Commentary, Part 1 of 3: Pope Francis is trying to chart a way out of the long, aching scandal by forging standards where few exist. How did the crisis reach this stage? What feasible reforms can the pope engineer?
