Michael Sean Winters: The life of the Catholic Church in this country in 2021 was characterized by a culture war fit and evidence that Pope Francis will press forward with the reception of Vatican II in ways that will profoundly affect the U.S. church.
In a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica to create 13 new cardinals, including Washington, D.C. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Pope Francis cautioned them to prioritize the interests of the people they serve.
The Vatican cardinal sacked by Pope Francis amid a corruption investigation is suing an Italian news magazine, claiming that his ruined reputation has eliminated his chances of becoming pope and will undermine the legitimacy of any future papal election.
An Australian agency said Nov. 11 it was not investigating the transfer of Vatican funds to Australia because of a lack of evidence of wrongdoing, undermining speculation that the money might be linked to the overturned convictions of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse.
Pope Francis is removing the ability of the Vatican's Secretariat of State to administer its own financial portfolio, after a series of financial scandals that included the unusual resignation of a cardinal in September.
A lack of oversight and control over the Vatican Secretariat of State's investment activities may have facilitated some bad property deals, said Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
After the surprise resignation of Cardinal Angelo Becciu in October, Pope Francis named Cardinal-designate Silvano Tomasi as his special delegate to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Australian state police said Oct. 23 they're not investigating the transfer of money from the Vatican to Australia, throwing doubt on Italian media speculation that it might be linked to the overturned convictions of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse.
The Vatican's swirling corruption investigation has taken a mysterious new twist with the arrest on an international warrant of a Sardinian woman said to be close to one of the Holy See's most powerful cardinals before his downfall.
