Displaying items by tag: Catholic bishops

Friday, 24 March 2023 06:09

World: Cardinals want bishops prosecuted

German Cardinal Gerhard Müller and American Cardinal Raymond Burke want the Vatican to put Germany's Roman Catholic bishops on trial for abandoning church doctrine and approving Church blessings of same-sex unions and weddings between divorced Catholics. Cardinal Mueller wants all German bishops who voted to bless same-sex unions to be held to account, tried, sentenced and then removed from their office if they are not accepting the Catholic doctrine. Cardinal Burke has publicly clashed with Pope Francis before and is seen as the leader of the church's conservative wing. He wants sanctions against the German bishops under the Code of Canon Law. British Anglican Chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth, Gavin Ashenden, said it isn’t just German Catholic bishops who are revising church doctrine; there was an issue of lack of faith across Europe. Polish and Nordic archbishops are also challenging Germany’s path. See

Published in Worldwide
Thursday, 16 September 2021 21:48

Call for an end to the arms trade

Catholic bishops and organisations voiced their opposition to the arms trade, as the UK hosted one of the world’s largest arms fairs on 14-17 September for global governments and military delegations, with over 1,500 companies selling guns, bombs, and other weaponry. A statement from the bishops and other concerned organisations emphasised how conflicts fed by the trade harm the world’s poorest communities, forcing people to become refugees. In 2015 Pope Francis said, ‘Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer is simply for money - money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.’ Pray for all the voices of those peacefully campaigning against the arms trade to be heard so that leaders commit to ending it in pursuit of peace.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 10 December 2020 20:40

Catholic bishops comment on vaccine

Catholic leaders are encouraging people to receive Covid vaccines despite some ethical concerns regarding their creation, and fears of committing a sin by being immunised. The bishops’ conference has urged people to disregard the rumours that the AstraZeneca vaccine may have been made from aborted foetal tissue, namely the lung tissue of an aborted male foetus. However, researchers at the University of Bristol said that the aborted tissue was not part of the vaccine, but only used for testing it. While the researchers said they injected the vaccine into MRC-5 cells derived from an aborted foetus to test its effectiveness, the vaccine itself does not contain MRC-5 cells.

Published in British Isles