Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Archbishop Augustine Kasujja, the first native African to be appointed Apostolic Nuncio by the Vatican has retired. The Canon Law requires Catholic prelates to submit their resignation letters from the pastoral governance of their dioceses, or any other duties, to the Pontiff after clocking the …
Read More »Pope fights corruption with new Vatican tenders law
Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis stepped up his battle against corruption in the Vatican Monday with a new law aimed at boosting transparency in tenders and cutting costs as a post-coronavirus recession hits. Convicted mobsters and those guilty of tax fraud are among a list of undesirables now unable to pocket contracts. The …
Read More »Pope Francis appoints Bainomugisha Archbishop for Mbarara
Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Paul Bakyenga and appointed Auxiliary Bishop Lambert Bainomugisha as the Archbishop of Mbarara, Uganda. Arcbishop-elect Bainomugisha is also the President of the Legal Service Commission and is a member of other commissions of the Uganda Episcopal Conference. …
Read More »Pope Francis finally sides with traditionalists on priest celibacy
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | In quashing the idea of married priests in the Amazon, Pope Francis has appeased traditionalists while disappointing progressives who had hoped for a historic turning point in the Catholic church. In his “apostolic exhortation” on the Amazon basin published Wednesday, Francis slammed the …
Read More »Ex-pope’s shadow Vatican role in the spotlight
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Ex-pope Benedict XVI seems to have broken his silence recently over key Catholic issues and his comments have raised serious questions within the Church about the extent to which there are, in fact, two “men in white” at the Vatican. In 2013, Benedict became …
Read More »Dispute over former pope’s role in controversial book
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | The Vatican was gripped Tuesday by a dispute over whether elderly ex-pope Benedict XVI was being used by the Catholic Church’s ultra-conservative wing to undermine his successor Pope Francis. At least three Vatican correspondents cited a source close to Benedict saying the former pontiff …
Read More »Pope Francis repeats support for celibacy after Benedict outburst
Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis on Monday repeated his support for celibacy after his predecessor pope Benedict XVI urged him not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that stunned Vatican experts. “The pope’s position on celibacy is well known,” the head of …
Read More »Retired Pope Benedict rejects opening up priesthood to married men
Rome, Italy | AFP | Former pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that Sunday stunned Vatican experts. The ex-pontiff, who retired in 2013, issued the defence of clerical celibacy in a book …
Read More »‘Pope should open priesthood in Amazon to married men’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Catholic bishops gathered at a special Vatican assembly called on Pope Francis Saturday to open the priesthood to married men in the Amazon, as well as giving women a greater role to play and making damaging the environment a sin. The bishops issued a …
Read More »Pope Francis to visit Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis flies out on Wednesday for a week-long tour visiting three Indian Ocean African countries hard hit by poverty, conflict and natural disaster. The pope will visit Mozambique and Madagascar, as well as Mauritius, countries visited by pope John Paul II …
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