According to our information, Pope Francis reinstates the title of Patriarch of the West (Old Rome) in the annual Vatican Diptychs (Pontificio Annuario del Vaticano 2024), which will be released next Tuesday.The title, which was removed by Pope Benedict XVI, after pressure from the conservative circles of the Vatican and at the urging of the theologian Adriano Garuti, from the Dicastery for the ..read more

Seewald contradicts Francis: Benedict was not a “transitional pope”Was Benedict XVI. just a “transitional pope”? His successor Francis recently expressed this assessment. Now Benedict's biographer Peter Seewald contradicts the Pontiff and accuses him of "double-tracking" in his dealings with his predecessor.The author Peter Seewald has assessed Pope Benedict XVI. (2005-2013) as “transitional pope ..read more

Women in the Church, the Swiss inspiration of Pope FrancisOrdain women deacons or priests? Pope Francis seeks answers to this question in particular from Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988). But the Swiss theologian's vision is challenged by a number of specialists.“Women can do many things better than men,” Pope Francis assured in 2016, on the plane bringing him back from Sweden. He was ..read more

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Oases in the desert. From the 'people's church' to the 'community church'How long will this self-sufficient apparatus continue to rattle along, silently ignoring the Lord's command to 'Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel'? By Walter Cardinal Brandmüller“And now the Christian, the Catholic, must find and create oases in this human, cultural desert in which he can still breathe freely and ..read more

Switzerland: “Prayer on Thursday” for three yearsExactly three years ago, a prayer campaign was launched in the Fahr monastery in Switzerland to spiritually accompany the church on its path to renewal. What exactly is “Prayer on Thursday”? We asked the Benedictine nuns at Fahr Monastery.Swiss Prioress: Prayer for profound changes in the ChurchFebruary 10th – Memorial Day of Saint Scholastica ..read more

Canon lawyer criticizes the Münster diocese for inactionSchüller: Bishops must also legally define the AfD exclusionAnyone who publicly represents AfD positions cannot work in the church on a voluntary or full-time basis, say the Bishops. But there is a lack of legal certainty for consequences, says canon lawyer Thomas Schüller in an interview with Kirche+Leben. And he criticizes the Diocese of ..read more

Liturgical Movement: Lost Innocence?“Cult of the people – an ecumenical revision”: It is a sensitive and so far underexplored topic that a conference in the Vatican is currently dealing with. It's about the idea of the "people" in the liturgical movements and reforms of the last century.“Has the liturgical renewal” – and it existed in the German-speaking area on both the Catholic and Protestant ..read more

The Community of Dominicans of the Holy Spirit and a Canadian cardinal condemned for the dismissal of Mother Marie FerréolMother Marie Ferréol was dismissed from her community in October 2020, without cause, after a visit from Marc Ouellet. The latter was accused of sexual assault in Quebec.Sister Marie Ferréol, of the Congregation of the Benedictines of the Holy Spirit, who was excluded from her ..read more

Surprises are always possible during reform discussionsZdK President: Canon law will not remain as it isThe Rhine must never again be allowed to pollute the TiberThe Church will change, the President of the Central Committee of German Catholics, Irme Stetter-Karp, is certain of that. It relies on surprises in the reform discussion in the church - and on pressure for change from all over the ..read more