Bishops Archives

Vatican article says ‘main obstacle’ for Pope Francis is bishops, priests
- Vatican
- July 23, 2017
Shortly after one Vatican article stirred debate by asserting there’s an “ecumenism of hate” in the U.S. between conservative Evangelicals and Catholics, another over the weekend asserted that the “main obstacle” to implementing Pope Francis’s vision for the Church is “closure, if not hostility” from “a good part of the clergy, at levels both high and low.”
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A new procedure for bishops’ ad limina visits to Rome
- Catholic News Agency, Vatican
- June 14, 2017
The usual ad limina visit to Rome that bishops make every five years to meet the pope and share with them their issues and concerns have become increasingly less formal under the pontificate of Pope Francis who recently added an additional meeting with the heads of the Vatican dicasteries.
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Abuse survivor wants papal panel to push back on Vatican resistance
- Interviews, Vatican
- May 16, 2017
On Saturday, Pope Francis called Marie Collins, an abuse survivor who recently quit his Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors citing Vatican resistance to reform, a “great woman” and said she’s “right on some things.” In a Crux interview, Collins expressed gratitude but also said that the Church still needs uniform global standards and a way to hold bishops accountable.
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Minn. bishop rejects claim he pressured alleged abuse victim

The lawsuit charges that in 2015, Bishop Michael Hoeppner pressured Ronald Vasek to sign a letter that recanted his previous statements alleging sexual abuse by a priest in 1971 when he was 16. The lawsuit claims this was motivated in part because the accused priest was unable to minister in other dioceses due to the abuse allegation in the diocese’s records.

Mexican bishops: The cry of migrants is the cry of the Church

The Mexican Bishops’ Conference released a communiqué stressing the issue of the suffering of migrants and refugees, especially children. In the statement the bishops said that the cry of migrants “is calling out to our hearts and invites us to action.”

Bishops seek food relief as Kenya declares drought area national disaster

Three days after Kenyan bishops appealed for food relief, the government declared the country’s drought a national disaster. Kenya’s food insecurity has nearly doubled so that now 1.25 million people are affected, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.