Pope Leo pledges action on child abuse by priests after meeting French survivors

Pope Leo pledges action on child abuse by priests after meeting French survivors

SCMP •

Pope Leo reaffirmed his commitment to ending abuse of children by Catholic priests in a meeting with French abuse survivors on Sunday, the Vatican said, hours after the pontiff urged the Church to admit its own failings and heal its “deep wounds”. In a two-hour meeting with seven survivors in France, where Leo is on a three-city weekend visit, the pope met privately with each of the victims and he...

Pope meets victims of sex abuse, urges ‘wise leaders’ as French election looms

Pope meets victims of sex abuse, urges ‘wise leaders’ as French election looms

SCMP •

Pope Leo waved at believers on his way to mass on Sunday in the French pilgrimage town of Lourdes where he is to meet victims of clerical sex abuse on a third day of an official visit to France. The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is on a four-day trip to France, a secular country with deep Catholic roots, marking the first official papal visit there in nearly two decades. The first US...

UK politics live: Burnham confirms he wants new taxes to pay for free social care in England, saying many already paying ‘huge’ dementia costs

UK politics live: Burnham confirms he wants new taxes to pay for free social care in England, saying many already paying ‘huge’ dementia costs

The Guardian •

PM appears to be anticipating criticism of reforms that he will set out on Tuesday at the Labour party conference‘I can deliver’: Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conferenceKuenssberg puts it to Burnham that, according to the Health Foundation, a system offering adult social care free at the point of deliver (like healthcare delivered by the NHS) would cost £18bn.Burnham says the co...

Northern Ireland court allows Orange Order march through Catholic area

Northern Ireland court allows Orange Order march through Catholic area

France 24 •

A court in Northern Ireland has allowed a Protestant parade to proceed through a controversial route in a Catholic area for the first time in nearly 30 years. The legal dispute ended in the early hours of Sunday, with counterprotests now underway and police working to keep marchers and protesters apart. The Drumcree parade dispute dates back to the mid-1990s, when tensions over the route led to ri...

Pope Leo visits Lourdes pilgrimage site

Pope Leo visits Lourdes pilgrimage site

France 24 •

After leaving Paris, Pope Leo XIV ended his second day in France in Lourdes, where he prayed at the Grotto of Massabielle, one of the Catholic Church’s major pilgrimage sites. He is the third pope to visit Lourdes, following Benedict XVI and John Paul II. On Sunday, the pontiff is due to celebrate another open-air mass before meeting privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse. A Frenc...

Azerbaijan agrees multi-billion-dollar deals with investment giants

Euronews •

Nearly $11 billion (€9.7 billion) worth in contracts have emerged from the Azerbaijan International Investment Forum, where some of the world’s biggest investment managers gathered for talks ranging from infrastructure and technology to energy and transport.

Switzerland votes on country's neutrality

Switzerland votes on country's neutrality

France 24 •

As other neutral countries such as Austria and Ireland increase defence spending and strengthen ties with NATO, Swiss voters are taking part in a referendum on whether to enshrine a stricter definition of the country’s centuries-old neutrality in the constitution. Switzerland has not fought a military conflict since neutrality was established in 1815, but some argue that measures such as sanctions...