Jonathan Luxmoore, Author at Catholic Herald

Jonathan Luxmoore

French bishops council OKs removing parents’ gender from baptism certificates

January 10, 2020

The French bishops’ permanent council has approved a recommendation to remove gender references for parents on baptismal certificates. Bishop Joseph de Metz-Noblat of Langres, president of the French bishops’ Council for Canonical Questions, said the changes were made to bring baptismal practices into line with new gender-equality laws. In a letter to bishops dated December

Slovakia rejects pioneering pro-life bill after Europe-wide pressure

December 12, 2019

Slovak parliamentarians have rejected legislation, the first of its kind in the European Union, requiring women seeking abortions to see images and hear the heartbeat of their unborn child first via ultrasound. This was despite its backing from the country’s influential Catholic Church. The bill, an amendment to Slovakia’s Healthcare Act, was tabled by three

Belgian Salesians defend decision to send convicted paedophile to Africa

November 28, 2019

Belgium’s Salesian order has defended its decision to send a priest convicted of child abuse to work with Caritas in Central African Republic, where he has been accused of abusing children again. Fr Carlo Loots, Belgian provincial vicar and spokesman for the Salesians of Don Bosco, also said the order had learned from the incident

Franco’s reburial has reopened Church divisions

October 31, 2019

Spain’s former dictator, General Francisco Franco, has been reburied at a Madrid cemetery with Church approval, despite protests by right-wing devotees and complaints by Catholic clergy. The remains of Franco (1892-1975), who ruled for four decades after the Spanish Civil War, were exhumed on October 24 from a Catholic basilica at the Valley of the

Most Polish bishops will be relieved by PiS’s victory, but tensions remain

October 24, 2019

When Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS) was returned to government on October 13, Church leaders were cautious in their public comments. While most bishops will be privately relieved, they will also be wary of the challenges ahead. “Neither they nor the Church as a whole speak with one voice now, and there are certainly

Bishops urge Europeans to ‘wake up’ and rediscover Christian roots

October 07, 2019

Europe’s Catholic bishops urged their citizens to “wake up” and find new hope by rediscovering the continent’s Christian roots. In a meeting in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Church leaders from 45 European countries met in the run-up to Britain’s projected departure from the European Union and the inauguration of the new European Union governing commission.

The Polish Church is under attack, but it is standing firm

September 19, 2019

Poland’s bishops recently commemorated the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War with their German counterparts. Their shared message was a chance to evoke the heroic legacy of the Polish Church’s past struggles for democracy and human rights. Today, some Poles fear that legacy is being tarnished, as new scandals and controversies

Newly released letters show Newman’s role as pastor and evangelist

September 17, 2019

Thousands of documents relating to England’s 19th-century convert-cardinal, Blessed John Henry Newman, are being released ahead of his October 13 canonization, highlighting his role as a pastor and evangelist, said Church experts. Although 32 annotated volumes of the cardinal’s letters and diaries have been published over the past two decades, the new material includes letters

Thousands of Catholics observe ‘Poland Under the Cross’ festival

September 17, 2019

Polish Catholics participated in Masses and penance liturgies for recent scandals over sexual abuse by clergy and acts of vandalism and profanation at local churches. “The vision of Christ’s suffering can transform human hearts, spurring recognition of sins and a request for forgiveness,” said Bishop Wieslaw Mering of Wloclawek. “Today, we are being told to

Polish archbishop vows to resist ‘LGBT ideology’

August 09, 2019

The president of the Polish bishops’ conference confirmed the country’s Catholic Church will resist “LGBT ideology” as equality campaigners demanded the dismissal of an archbishop who branded gays and lesbians a “rainbow pestilence.” “People belonging to so-called sexual minority circles are our brothers and sisters for whom Christ gave his life,” Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of

Medjugorje: Senior Vatican officials join first officially approved festival

August 07, 2019

Senior Vatican representatives joined the first officially approved church festival at Medjugorje, three months after Catholic pilgrimages to the site in Bosnia-Herzegovina were authorised by the Pope. “We are called to share the difficulties of our contemporaries and we have a responsibility to care for them,” Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for

Franco’s tomb is still a headache for the Church

June 13, 2019

Spain’s Catholic Church has promised to respect a Supreme Court judgment barring the exhumation of General Francisco Franco from his mausoleum outside Madrid, while appealing to both sides in the dispute to find common ground. “Our Church and the Vatican have always urged agreement between his family and the government, which could help smooth conflicts

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