Expert: AP report misrepresents Church finances (CNA) A Feb. 4 investigative story from the Associated Press inaccurately portrays “the Roman Catholic Church” as a “giant corporate monolith” that raked in federal aid while sitting on billions of dollars that they could have used to pay employees, a canon and civil law expert told CNA. In reality, “the Roman Catholic Church” in the US is made up of tens of thousands of separate nonprofits, most of which did not have legal access to liquid cash necessary to pay their employees when the pandemic took hold last year…
Priest accused of battery at Louisiana nursing home (WWL) Weeks after commending her dying husband’s soul to God, the chaplain at a Catholic retirement home in Mandeville forcefully reached under an elderly woman’s blouse multiple times in an unsuccessful attempt to seduce her, according to authorities. The Rev. Michael Mulenga was convicted of a simple misdemeanor battery charge Wednesday and was immediately sent to prison for five months, officials said…
Pope: Demographic winter threatens Italy’s future (Vatican News) Pope Francis once again emphasized the importance of protecting life at all stages, in remarks on the 43rd Italian Day for Life. The commemoration, which takes place each year on the first Sunday in February, was begun by the Italian Bishops in 1978, and aims at promoting welcoming life, especially the life in the womb. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Freedom in life.” Speaking after the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis said, “I join the Italian bishops in recalling that freedom is the great gift God has given us to seek and achieve our own good and that of others, starting with the primary good of life.” He insisted, “Our society must be helped to be cured of all attacks on life, so that it may be protected at every stage…”
Caritas: Access to vaccine not as equitable as it should be (CNS) Caritas Internationalis called on world leaders to set aside national and political agendas that seek returns on their investments in the COVID-19 vaccine and instead focus on its equitable distribution, especially in poor countries. In a statement released Feb. 5, the umbrella organization of official national Catholic charities around the world said that while the availability of the vaccine has brought much hope, it has also revealed “a wider gap in inequality…”
