Pope Francis has appointed two new auxiliary bishops to serve the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Monsignor Timothy Menezes, Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral, and Canon Richard Walker, Vicar General, will serve the Archdiocese of Birmingham as auxiliary bishops, notes the archdiocese’s website. The role of an auxiliary bishop is to assist the diocesan bishop in the functions of the office and the diocese, but the exact nature of the auxiliary bishop’s duties can vary and depend on the diocese, its demographics and the responsibilities a bishop assigns him. Dioceses or archdioceses with large populatio ..read more

Amid an ongoing back and forth between the Vatican and the German bishops conference over a controversial new ecclesial body, four of the nation’s prelates have refused to participate in the planning process, opting instead to wait for direction from Rome. In a statement released simultaneously 24 April, Bishop Gregor Maria Franz Hanke of Eichstätt, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg said they wish “to continue on the path to a more synodal Church in harmony with the universal Church”. The reference is to Pope Fran ..read more

The UK Government has announced that £12million pounds of taxpayers’ money is to go to a programme run by an organisation that aims to “expand access” to abortion in Tanzania over the next two years. It comes against a backdrop in which funding for overseas abortions has been a continued theme of the UK Government in recent years, reports Right to Life UK. Last year, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) launched an initiative “to tackle gender inequality around the world” with the use of over £200million of taxpayers’ money for programmes that include the provisi ..read more

NEW YORK – A national association of Catholic healthcare facilities in the US is “deeply concerned” that controversial new nurse staffing standards for long-term care facilities – implemented this week by the Biden administration – will actually harm nursing facilities and the residents they serve. The Catholic Health Association (CHA), which includes the more than 2,200 Catholic hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and related organisations, is the largest group of nonprofit health care providers in the nation. Every day, more than one in seven patients in the US is cared for ..read more

NEW YORK – A national association of Catholic healthcare facilities in the US is “deeply concerned” that controversial new nurse staffing standards for long-term care facilities – implemented this week by the Biden administration – will actually harm nursing facilities and the residents they serve. The Catholic Health Association (CHA), which includes the more than 2,200 Catholic hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and related organisations, is the largest group of nonprofit health care providers in the nation. Every day, more than one in seven patients in the US is cared for ..read more

An AI-generated avatar priest that was launched at the start of the week by a Catholic organisation appears to have been digitally defrocked following criticisms and concerns raised about the experiment in using emerging artificial intelligence technology to bolster the Catholic Faith. The “Fr. Justin” interactive AI app was launched by Catholic Answers, a US-based media ministry focused on apologetics and evangelisation, to answer questions about the Catholic faith, using material from the Catholic Answers library of resources, such as articles, talks and apologetics materials. “This innovati ..read more

Pope Francis has done his first extended one-on-one interview with a US TV network in the course of his 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old Pope on 24 April did an interview in Rome with news anchor Norah O’Donnell of CBS (the abbreviation of Columbia Broadcasting System), one of the main commercial broadcast television and radio networks in the United States. In the interview the Pope “shared his insights on the state of the world” and spoke about “war, peace, famine and climate change”, O’Donnell says in a short CBS promotional video. Portions of the “ground-breaking” interview aired on the CBS ..read more

Gender ideology and its language should be resisted in all Catholic institutions, according to a new document by the bishops of England and Wales. The 11-page paper also stated that the Catholic Church was firmly opposed to medical intervention for children who want to change their sex. It also said that “social transition”, in which a person lives in a role of sex opposite to their own, must also be avoided in Church institutions and especially in the case of children. In a press conference on 24 April, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Bishop David Oakley or Northampton declined to ..read more

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is a place apart for those seeking peace, rest and spiritual refreshment. Almost a million people visit every year, many of whom have come to see the place where Christianity came to the north of England. Like the pilgrims of old, those who come and stay on the island need a place to stay, and some can’t afford to spend much. Marygate House has been serving visitors since 1970 as a non-profit retreat centre for those who wish to stay on the island for longer than the fleeting hours between high tides, when the island becomes accessible by land. But after 54 years ..read more

Britain’s leading Catholic aid agency is making an emergency appeal to support families impacted by the conflict in Sudan. Over 8.5 million Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan since the war between rival militaries erupted in April 2023, according to the United Nations. CAFOD is the official international aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and its workers are on the ground in Sudan and say there is a short window to act before the agricultural growing season begins in June, as fears grow of an impending – yet preventable – famine. Jo Kitterick ..read more