It was once said that "a week is a long time in politics". Perhaps those viewing the media coverage of Church events will have come to the same conclusion concerning the Vatican. For those detached from all means of social communication and news commentary, recent events have included: the convening of a summit on child sexual abuse, the precursor publication of the sentence applied to Fr McCarrick and now the announcement of the conviction of Cardinal Pell by a secular cou

Today, the social media sites are frantically covering the announcement of the dismissal of Archbishop McCarrick from the clerical state. After years of alleged inactivity, this announcement on the eve of the imminent summit concerning the Church's response to child sexual abuse, presents as a remarkable coincidence. It comes at a time when senior canonical officials in the CDF and the Signatura have, it is alleged, been singled out for suspicion. One source (La Croix Interna

Within the past hour, my attention has been drawn to two seemingly unconnected matters. The first concerns the decision by a world-wide confectionary brand to remove the term "Easter" from its marketing campaign and packaging of egg shaped produce. In short: "gesture eggs" are in, "Easter eggs" are out. The decision may prompt expressions of surprise and disappointment from certain quarters. But, one is entitled to ask: should we be surprised? The customary tsunami of chocol

A short time ago, I was contacted by a priest whose ministry relates to examination of candidates for admission to formation. He had been positively encouraged by the standard of the candidates he had encountered, their age range, experience and resolve. Many diocesan priests are likely to count their day of ordination as their most important. In sacramental terms, this is clearly correct. This is evidently in line with the Church's understanding of the ontological change wh