Cardinal George Pell
Cardinal George Pell (photo: Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA)

Cardinal Pell and Hong Kong (Aug. 24)

This week a panel of Australian appellate judges rejected Cardinal George Pell’s appeal of the sexual abuse conviction that sent him to prison earlier this year. What happens next? We talk to Register Rome Correspondent Edward Pentin, who has the news details and reactions from Australia and the Vatican. Also, what’s the latest from Hong Kong? And why did Planned Parenthood opt out of Title X federal funding? We find out in a news roundup.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis