Crux Now

Abuse survivor calls for more accountability after Pope Francis promises "zero tolerance"

“The conscience of the Church arrived a little late” on sexual abuse, the Pope Francis said during an audience at the Vatican, adding that sexual abuse a "sickness" and that there will be no pardon for abusers who were found guilty. Abuse survivor Marie Collins praised the pope's words, but stated that the 'Zero Tolerance' policy is "toothless" without accountability.

Meet the man who helped build the pope's brand on Twitter

Spanish Catholic layman Gustavo Entrala, who created a successful digital marketing company and who's advised both Popes Benedict XVI and Francis about their use of Twitter, says that Francis has the most "consistent" and attractive brand among major world leaders today, in part because he's seen to embody his own message.

Myanmar Cardinal calls on international community not to abandon Aung San Suu Kyi

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, said it is important to remember that even if Aung San Suu Kyi’s perceptions of the Rohingya situation are incorrect, “her integrity and commitment are above suspicion...Her own lifetime sacrifice to resurrect from the ruins of junta misrule of sixty years is a great historic achievement,” the cardinal said. “In her fragile hands, she holds the dreams of millions of this country.”

Mercy can scandalize those who don't see their own sin, pope says at Mass
- Cindy Wooden
- September 21, 2017
During his daily Mass on Thursday, Pope Francis said even today “we often hear faithful Catholics who see mercy at work and ask, ‘Why?'” But, Francis said, Jesus himself answered them when he said, “I have come not to call the just, but sinners.” So, “if you want to be called by Jesus, recognize you are a sinner.”
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Pennsylvania diocese names 5-member abuse board in pact with prosecutor
- Associated Press
- September 21, 2017
A year ago, the previous Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane released a 147-page report based on secret diocesan records and other evidence that detailed abuse by more than 50 priests and clergy against hundreds of children in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Now the members of a new Independent Oversight Board for Youth Protection have been announced, including a former prosecutor, a former police detective, and an abuse survivor turned advocate.
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Church calls for "vigilance" as Filipino protesters slam martial law, killings under Duterte
- Jim Gomez and Teresa Cerojan
- September 21, 2017
President Rodrigo Duterte warned he will use force or expand nationwide his declaration of martial law in the country’s south if the anti-government protesters threatened public order. In May, he placed the southern third of the largely Catholic nation under martial law to deal with a siege by pro-Islamic State group militants in southern Marawi city that has dragged on for nearly four months.
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Remains of over 300 individuals given burial in Michigan
- Christopher White
- September 21, 2017
Earlier this week, the cremated remains of over 300 individuals were laid to rest in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan. Some of the unclaimed remains had been kept in hospital storage for over two decades.
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Pope says not laicizing priest guilty of abuse was a mistake; it will never happen again
- Carol Glatz
- September 21, 2017
Pope Francis told the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors he has been learning “on the job” better ways to handle priests found guilty of abuse, and he recounted a decision he has now come to regret: That of agreeing to a more lenient sanction against an Italian priest, rather than laicizing him as the doctrinal team recommended. Two years later the priest abused again, and the pope said he has since learned “it’s a terrible sickness” that requires a different approach.
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Burundi bishops call for national dialogue to avert renewed civil war
- Ngala Killian Chimtom
- September 21, 2017
Earlier this month, a United Nations inquiry claimed that crimes against humanity are being committed in Burundi. The report said killings, torture, sexual violence, degrading treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests have been taking place since the controversial 2015 election. The bishops said in a statement, “We want to once again insist on the inclusive dialogue that must be prioritized for the greater interest of the nation and with a view to blocking the way to all those who choose the path of war.”
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US Senate committee advances bill to aid Christians in Iraq
- Matt Hadro
- September 21, 2017
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Sept. 19 to advance a bill that seeks to ensure U.S. aid reaches Christian genocide victims in Iraq out of the committee, moving it closer to a floor vote. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) praised Tuesday’s vote, saying the bill provides much-needed support to the Chaldean Archeparchy of Erbil, which has hosted Christian victims of Islamic State for several years.
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Mexican family mourns 11 dead after church falls at baptism
- Pablo Spencer
- September 21, 2017
Among the victims of a magnitude 7.1 quake in Mexico were 11 members of a family attending a baptism in the center of the country. The earthquake was centered in Puebla state, where it killed more than 40 people. Across Mexico it killed more than 200 people. Pope Francis expressed his closeness and prayers to the Mexican people during his general audience on Wednesday.
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In Vatican trial, question remains: Whose reputations are on the line?

September 19, 2017

As the latest major Vatican criminal trial resumed on Tuesday, judges seemed to challenge claims by the main defendant that spending $500,000 from funds belonging to a papally-sponsored children’s hospital to remodel the private apartment of a Vatican cardinal was entirely routine and above-board. As the trial plays out, the reputations of both that cardinal and Pope Francis’s broader financial reform appear at stake.

Pope Francis reboots the John Paul II institute on marriage and family

September 19, 2017

Pope Francis on Tuesday decided to reboot one of the signature institutions of the St. Pope John Paul II era in Catholicism, the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. From now on it will be a theological institute, with the mandate of exploring the “lights and shadows” of family life with “realism” and “love,” while also staying faithful to the Church’s teaching.