Latest news with #ThePillar
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pope Leo XIV: First American Pope raises questions about whether he must pay taxes
The Brief The United States taxes its citizens living abroad, including foreign-based income. The Pope is entitled to a monthly stipend up to $33,000, totaling almost $400,000, annually. His tax liability could exceed $135,000. HOUSTON - Pope Leo XIV will be officially inaugurated in a special mass at the Vatican on Sunday. A conversation of curiosity has grown, since the election of the first American Pope, over whether he has to pay taxes. While almost all of the pontiff's needs will be taken care of by the church, he is entitled to a salary of up to $33,000 a month, totaling almost $400,000 a year. Fortune magazine estimates such an income could mean a tax bill of more that $135,000. The IRS has no blanket exception for religious personnel, nor for people who are diplomats or heads of state for foreign countries such as the Vatican. The last three popes all declined their monthly stipend, and as a member of the Augustinian order, Pope Leo did take an oath of poverty and could defer the money to them. As he remains an American citizen, U.S. taw law suggests the Pope would have to file a tax return if he collects any of the stipend. Since this is uncharted territory, prevailing expectation leans toward the I.R.S. privately addressing the question, or Congress passing a law that outlines the tax situation for the Pope. The Source Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Pillar
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Popes Can Choose Any Name They Want. Here's Why Peter Is Always Skipped
When Robert Francis Prevost stepped out on the balcony as Pope Leo XIV, he reintroduced himself to the world. But how did he choose his regnal name? 'There are very few rules for the man at the top, so they're allowed to choose what they want,' Joshua McManaway, who teaches about the history of the Papacy, told The Pillar. However, no pope choses the name 'Peter,' out of respect for Saint Peter the Apostle, the first pope. 'I suspect it is humility or perhaps even because one does not want to compare oneself to the one pope we know Christ chose himself. That may be a bridge too far!' McManaway added. 'It is an unwritten rule; it would be fair game. But I think anyone would cause great scandal if they chose Peter II.' However, he clarifies, 'Paul is safe. You're allowed to chose Paul.' For five centuries, popes didn't change their name upon being elected pope; instead, they kept their birth name. Starting in 533, however, a priest named Mercurius decided to change his name to Pope John II, likely not wanting a name associated with a Roman god. That said, popes choosing a regnal name didn't become tradition until the 11th century, and Pope Marcellus II in 1555 officially became the last pope to keep his birth name. Papal regnal names often have historical significance. 'Linking to the names of previous popes who weathered crises, inspired reform, or were incredibly popular can often, although not always, play a role in the choosing of a name,' Liam Temple, assistant professor in the history of Catholicism at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University, told CNN. Pope Francis, for example, chose to honor Saint Francis of Assisi. Pope Benedict XVI, meanwhile, chose his name in honor of Saint Benedict and Pope Benedict XV. Throughout history, there have been a few common pope names: John (21 popes), Gregory (16), Benedict (15), Clement (14), and Innocent (13). Leo is also a popular choice, now having been selected by 14 pontiffs. In contrast, there have been 44 papal names used only once—including Francis, who was the first uniquely named pope in over 1,000 years. You Might Also Like Nicole Richie's Surprising Adoption Story The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Her Mother Queen Camilla's Life in Photos
Scottish Sun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
New Pope Leo XIV accused of ‘looking the other way' over sex abuse allegations against priests in Chicago & Peru
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) POPE Leo XIV has been accused of "looking the other way" over sexual abuse claims against several Catholic priests he worked with. The historic first ever American Pope, whose real name is Robert Prevost, is already facing serious scrutiny by survivors' groups over how he responded to three accusations in the past. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 9 New Pope Leo XIV addresses crowds at the Vatican after being elected on Thursday Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 Prevost is accused of allowing priest Father James Ray to live in his friary despite the man facing allegations of sexually abusing minors Credit: 9 Prevost became the first American pope in history as Catholics cheered on from the Vatican Prevost, 69, has served the Catholic Church for decades with his work taking him across the world from his native Chicago to a seminary in Peru. But during his time as an ordained priest he is accused of looking the other way when allegations of abuse in the US and South America were uncovered. Prevost allegedly ignored sick accusations that Augustinian priest Father James Ray sexually abused minors in the years before the pair worked together in Chicago, the survivors' group claims. Ray was allowed to live at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park despite him being removed from ministering to the public nine years earlier. read more in the new Pope THE CHOSEN ONE How maths whizz from Chicago Robert Prevost rose to become Pope The friary sat just half a block away from an elementary school at the time. The latest on Pope Leo XIV... Cardinal Robert Prevost elected Pope Inside the life of the first ever American Pope Donald Trump congratulates Prevost JD Vance makes peace offering to new Pope after 'anti-MAGA' tweets It is alleged that Prevost refused to notify heads at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic school of Ray's past, reports Will County Gazette. The priest was later relocated away from the school under new rules which aimed to keep those accused of abuse as far away from children as they could. Two further priests in Peru also faced accusations of sexual abuse under Prevost's watch, it is claimed. Prevost was hit with criticism over how he dealt with the allegations as he was the head of the Diocese of Chiclayo where the men worked between 2014 to 2023. Catholic news outlet The Pillar investigated the claims in 2022 and say they believe the church should have handled allegations by three sisters against a father at Diocese of Chiclayo better. President Trump is honored by new American Pope Allegations were later made against a separate priest at the same South American church, The Pillar reported. The alleged victims claimed in a statement the Diocese downplayed details and documentation around their allegations. They claim they were told that the probe "was shelved for lack of evidence and because the statute of limitations had expired", according to The Pillar. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), laid blame on Prevost for not having opened a formal church investigation into the claims himself. Lopez de Casas, a child victim of abuse by a Texas priest and national vice president of SNAP, has now blasted the newly-elected Pope after his election. He told MailOnline: "You can't cover up sexual abuse and be a good priest. "Staying silent is a sin. It's not what God wants us to do. "Jesus wants us to stop these things, not make a heathy garden for sexual abuse to grow." 9 SNAP and other survivors' groups said they laid out all of the information they had found on Prevost to the cardinals taking part in the Conclave Credit: Getty 9 Prevost chose the name Pope Leo XIV Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 A young Robert Prevost at the start of his budding career within the Catholic church Credit: Reuters 9 SNAP and other survivors' groups said they laid out all of the information they had found on Prevost to the cardinals taking part in the Conclave. They also wrote a letter to the Vatican slamming what it described as Prevost's inaction in Peru and Chicago. De Casas added: "He was high on our watchlist at SNAP to make sure he was not selected for pope." But on Thursday evening, Prevost became Pope Leo XIV after less than 25 hours of voting in the Sistine Chapel. The dark horse beat odds of 66/1 to become God's messenger on Earth before being unveiled to crowds of the faithful in Rome. Despite being disappointed in the result, de Casas says he hopes it will only help to further highlight sexual abuse scandals which have rocked the Catholic Church for decades. Who is new American Pope Robert Prevost? PREVOST was born in Chicago in 1955 to immigrant parents of French, Italian and Spanish descent. After graduating from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with a degree in maths, the future pontiff joined the Order of St Augustine, taking his vows in 1978. Ordained as a priest in 1982, he joined a mission in Peru where he spent many years heading up a seminary. Returning to the US in 1999, he then met controversy when he allowed alleged child abuser Father James Ray to reside at a friary in Chicago. He was made archbishop in 2023 and within a few months he was promoted to the cardinal by late Pope Francis. Overall, the new pope is considered a centrist, however, on many social issues he has been hailed as progressive. He has been seen to advocated for marginalized groups as the Francis did. But Pope Leo XIV has opposed ordaining women as deacons, which has made him seen as conservative on church doctrine. The multi-talented Catholic Church head can also speak English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese - and can even read Latin and German. The SNAP vice president said: "For them to chose a cardinal who has hidden sexual abuse and is American only means that this person will be scrutinised from left to right. "That's helpful for victims everywhere because we have this pope who will be under the public eye in terms of things he was involved with in the past." It comes just weeks after a top lawyer for Catholic Church sex abuse survivors told The Sun he has no hope of finding justice in whoever is nominated to lead the Vatican following the death of Pope Francis. Francis took steps to place a spotlight on clergy child sex abuse cases that have been a stain on the Catholic Church for decades. But following his tragic passing, their are now fears that the systemic issues may be played off. Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian told The U.S. Sun: "The Catholic Church has not changed its ways in preventing child abuse or helping survivors trying to heal. "Survivors do not have much faith in the Catholic Church all of a sudden changing. He added: "I think many survivors feel as though the church never cared about survivors and never will." 9 Prevost with late former Pope Benedict XVI Credit: Reuters
The Irish Sun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
New Pope Leo XIV accused of ‘looking the other way' over sex abuse allegations against priests in Chicago & Peru
POPE Leo XIV has been accused of "looking the other way" over sexual abuse claims against several Catholic priests he worked with. The historic Advertisement 9 New Pope Leo XIV addresses crowds at the Vatican after being elected on Thursday Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 Prevost is accused of allowing priest Father James Ray to live in his friary despite the man facing allegations of sexually abusing minors Credit: 9 Prevost became the first American pope in history as Catholics cheered on from the Vatican Prevost, 69, has served the Catholic Church for decades with his work taking him across the world from his native Chicago to a seminary in . But during his time as an ordained priest he is accused of looking the other way when allegations of abuse in the US and South America were uncovered. Prevost allegedly ignored sick accusations that Augustinian priest Father James Ray sexually abused minors in the years before the pair worked together in Chicago, the survivors' group claims. Ray was allowed to live at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park despite him being removed from ministering to the public nine years earlier. Advertisement read more in the new Pope The friary sat just half a block away from an elementary school at the time. The latest on Pope Leo XIV ... Cardinal Robert Prevost Inside the life of the Donald Trump JD Vance makes peace offering to new Pope after 'anti-MAGA' tweets It is alleged that Prevost refused to notify heads at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic school of Ray's past, reports Will County Gazette. Most read in The Sun Latest The priest was later relocated away from the school under new rules which aimed to keep those accused of abuse as far away from children as they could. Advertisement Two further priests in Peru also faced accusations of sexual abuse under Prevost's watch, it is claimed. Prevost was hit with criticism over how he dealt with the allegations as he was the head of the Diocese of Chiclayo where the men worked between 2014 to 2023. Catholic news outlet President Trump is honored by new American Pope Allegations were later made against a separate priest at the same South American church, The Pillar reported. Advertisement The alleged victims claimed in a statement the Diocese downplayed details and documentation around their allegations. They claim they were told that the probe "was shelved for lack of evidence and because the statute of limitations had expired", according to The Pillar. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), laid blame on Prevost for not having opened a formal church investigation into the claims himself. Lopez de Casas, a child victim of abuse by a Texas priest and national vice president of SNAP , has now blasted the newly-elected Pope after his election. Advertisement He told "Staying silent is a sin. It's not what God wants us to do. "Jesus wants us to stop these things, not make a heathy garden for sexual abuse to grow." 9 SNAP and other survivors' groups said they laid out all of the information they had found on Prevost to the cardinals taking part in the Conclave Credit: Getty Advertisement 9 Prevost chose the name Pope Leo XIV Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 A young Robert Prevost at the start of his budding career within the Catholic church Credit: Reuters 9 SNAP and other survivors' groups said they laid out all of the information they had found on Prevost to the cardinals taking part in the Conclave. Advertisement They also wrote a letter to the Vatican slamming what it described as Prevost's inaction in Peru and Chicago. De Casas added: "He was high on our watchlist at SNAP to make sure he was not selected for pope." But on Thursday evening, Prevost became Pope Leo XIV after less than 25 hours of voting in the Sistine Chapel. The dark horse beat odds of 66/1 to become God's messenger on Earth before being unveiled to crowds of the faithful in Rome. Advertisement Despite being disappointed in the result, de Casas says he hopes it will only help to further highlight sexual abuse scandals which have Who is new American Pope Robert Prevost? PREVOST was After graduating from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with a degree in maths, the future pontiff joined the Order of St Augustine, taking his vows in 1978. Ordained as a priest in 1982, he joined a mission in Peru where he spent many years heading up a seminary. Returning to the US in 1999, he then met controversy when he allowed alleged child abuser Father James Ray to reside at a friary in Chicago. He was made archbishop in 2023 and within a few months he was promoted to the cardinal by late Pope Francis. Overall, the new pope is considered a centrist, however, on many social issues he has been hailed as progressive. He has been seen to advocated for marginalized groups as the Francis did. But Pope Leo XIV has opposed ordaining women as deacons, which has made him seen as conservative on church doctrine. The multi-talented Catholic Church head can also speak English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese - and can even read Latin and German. The SNAP vice president said: "For them to chose a cardinal who has hidden sexual abuse and is American only means that this person will be scrutinised from left to right. "That's helpful for victims everywhere because we have this pope who will be under the public eye in terms of things he was involved with in the past." It comes just weeks after a top lawyer for Catholic Church sex abuse survivors told The Sun he has no hope of finding justice in whoever is nominated to lead the Vatican following the death of Pope Francis. Advertisement Francis took steps to place a spotlight on clergy child sex abuse cases that have been a stain on the Catholic Church for decades. But following his tragic passing, their are now fears that the systemic issues may be played off. Boston-based attorney Mitchell Garabedian told The U.S. Sun: "The Catholic Church has not changed its ways in preventing child abuse or helping survivors trying to heal. "Survivors do not have much faith in the Catholic Church all of a sudden changing. Advertisement He added: "I think many survivors feel as though the church never cared about survivors and never will." 9 Prevost with late former Pope Benedict XVI Credit: Reuters 9 Pope Francis puts the red biretta on the head of new cardinal Prevost during a consistory in St. Peter Square at the Vatican in 2023
Hamilton Spectator
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
How to pick a pope? Here are the issues and hotly debated candidates as the cardinals prepare to vote
Divining who will become the next pope is the devil's work. It raises false idols — the so-called papabili, or front-runners — to be worshipped or denigrated. It promotes conflict between the various strains of Catholic faithful, pitting progressives against traditionalists. Will Catholics cast their lot with the charismatic Filipino karaoke cardinal being bashed for belting out John Lennon's sacrilegious line : 'Imagine there's no heaven ...'? What about the Congolese candidate who decries the western world's 'decadence' and denies the existence of homosexuality in Africa ? Or is it time to place the papal mitre once again atop an Italian head? To pose the question is to become lost in the legend, mystery and shadow of the papal election process; to assign secretive strategies to a process that the majority of the cardinals will be participating in for the first time. As one veteran cardinal from South Africa — who will not be voting for the next pope because he has passed the 80-year-age ceiling — confided to The Pillar , a Catholic news outlet: 'I went into the first one not knowing who the heck I'm going to vote for because I didn't know anybody really.' And yet, as the world's Roman Catholic cardinals prepare to enter the Sistine Chapel for next Wednesday's conclave we fumble forward in the dark, like Catholicologists trying to peer through a gilded curtain, guided by the best guesses of veteran Vatican watchers. Will the church opt for continuation after the death of Pope Francis or a course-correction after the Argentinian reformer's 12-year reign? Is there a back-to-biblical-basics revolution in the books for the ancient institution? And what sort of transformation can the modern world expect, really, when 133 middle age and elderly men cleared to vote — the so-called princes of the church — select one of their own to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics into the future? The Vatican has announced that the conclave will take place on May 7 to elect the next pope. Reporter Nicole Thompson explains the process and whether Canada has any contenders. (April 28, 2025 / The Canadian Press) One hundred and eight of the voting-age cardinals — 80 per cent of the total — were appointed by Francis himself, noted Mark McGowan, a professor of history who specializes in the Catholic Church. 'For the most part, those are the ones who are going to be, I think, critical in making a judgment about whether or not they want this very engaged pastoral papacy to continue with Francis' successor,' he said. Pastoral, meaning a papal reign marked by outreach and advocacy for the downtrodden and the marginalized — those who might have every reason to doubt the existence of a benevolent higher power. 'He created a group of men that were exactly as he was: shepherds with the smell of their flock.' This handout picture shows cardinals queuing in the Sistine Chapel to swear on the Bible to never reveal the secrets of their deliberations before the start of the last papal conclave at the Vatican on March 12, 2013. Catholic cardinals will begin on May 7, 2025, the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. But every good election includes a robust call for change, and the Vatican's theocratic exercise to pick a new leader is no different. Longtime church observer Gerard O'Connell reported in American Magazine this week that Francis was 'openly attacked' by a few top cardinals over the changes he imposed to church governance and oversight, leaving a bitter taste with loyalists. Dissenters stalked Francis throughout his papacy. He came under fire from conservative clerics for, among other things, allowing church blessings for civil same-sex marriages, naming lay people to top church positions, restricting the saying of the traditional Latin mass, and famously responding, when asked about homosexuality: 'If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?' Factions within the church believed, and continue to insist, that the imposition of clear religious rules and calling out those who stray from them is exactly the job of a pope, and one they want to see in Francis' successor. The Catholic Church's cardinals are meeting next week at the Vatican to elect the new pope in a centuries-old process called conclave. Recent conclaves took a few days, but the longest-ever in history was nearly three years long. (AP Video/Isaia Montelione / May 2, 2025) Among the critics this week, according to O'Connell, was an Italian cardinal seen as the campaign manager for 70-year-old Cardinal Pietro Parolin , the Vatican secretary of state, a longtime top diplomat. Parolin's behind-close-doors pitch to voting cardinals is entirely political: elect a moderate, middle-ground, compromise candidate to heal the dangerous divisions. But there was also a reminder of the stakes involved in picking the successor to St. Peter, the proverbial rock upon which the Catholic Church was founded, when Parolin's blood pressure reportedly spiked this week sending Vatican doctors scrambled to his aid. Cardinals will be looking for someone who is of sound faith, yes. But it also takes a sturdy mind and body to fulfil such a gruelling to-the-grave job. That there is an array of highly qualified cardinals to choose from could be both a blessing and a curse. If the consensus is to continue in Francis' footsteps, the College of Cardinals may look to someone like Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle , the 67-year-old from the Philippines, once dubbed the Asian Francis for his moderate, down-to-Earth approach. Coming from a country where 80 per cent of the population identifies as Catholic makes Tagle a logical contender heading into the conclave. But there are many other considerations. France's Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline , 66, is another candidate on the church's progressive wing, said to be favoured by Francis himself as a successor. But he's received bad press in Italy after reports that French President Emmanuel Macron is actively promoting his bid in backroom meetings — an apparently heretical mixing of civilian and ecclesiastical politicking. Born in Algeria when it was a French colony, Aveline is said to be particularly sensitive to the suffering of migrants and open to dialogue with other faiths. But his reportedly poor grasp of Italian could doom his candidacy, given that it's the lingua franca of the Roman Catholic Church. Among the Catholic conservatives, Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is thought to be a popular choice. This, after he objected to a Vatican decision to allow the blessing of same-sex marriages, then carved out an exception for African churches after warning about 'potential confusion and scandal within the Church community.' Cardinals embrace after late Pope Francis' funeral ceremony at St Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 26, 2025. Working in favour of the 65-year-old, too, is the strength of the church on the African continent, where some 265 million people call themselves Catholics. Another African contender, Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea , who was named the world's youngest bishop in 1979, at the age of 34. Now aged 79, the hardliner will likely be judged too old to succeed Francis. Another argument is that it's time for an Italian to occupy the papal apartments for the first time since the term of Pope John Paul I, who died in office from a heart attack after just 33 days. The shortest papal term in the church's 2,000-year history was followed by the Poland's Pope John Paul II's eventful 26-year reign; a seven-year run by Pope Benedict XVI that ended with his resignation and ushered in Francis. Apart from Cardinal Parolin, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is a native Roman who grew up in the church, with his father being a Vatican journalist and his mother's uncle an influential cardinal. He has the reputation as a left-leaning activist cleric who, in 2022, presided over a special 'Thanksgiving mass' for a gay couple married in a civil ceremony in Bologna at a time before official blessings of a same-sex union were allowed. Another interesting Italian candidate is the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa . He's been based in Israel for decades, but with the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war, his task has been the literal saving of souls threatened by the conflict, all while walking a delicate political tightrope. The urgency of his current mission, as well as the fact that he was only named a cardinal in 2023 and is still a relatively young 60 years old, might be convincing arguments in favour of pushing him off to a future conclave. McGowan, of the University of Toronto, saw those put forward by Francis as cardinals as part of a deliberate effort to broaden and diversify the church's senior-most ranks. 'We have cardinal bishops from places that would not have imagined they'd ever have before,' he said. 'Mongolia, Myanmar, Mauritius, East Timor, Guatemala — you know, the list goes on and it passed over some of those traditional areas that expected it.' One of his own dark-horse picks is Brazil's Cardinal Jaime Spengler , a 64-year-old promoted only in December, who has advocated the incorporation of indigenous Amazonian culture into the traditional Catholic mass and cautious openness toward allowing married men to be ordained so as to combat the shortfall of priests. 'This guy speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, English, French, Indonesian, Swahili, Croatian,' McGowan said. 'The guy is a phenom in terms of language and he's young and dynamic ... He's on nobody's list right now.' McGowan said that the focus on the church's declining population and influence in Europe and North America has obscured the growth and development in other parts of the world. 'That's why I would be very, very surprised if it was a hardline European that was elected to the office. All of the evidence seems to point elsewhere,' he said. 'But you know what? We've all been wrong before. I've been wrong many times. Catholics believe it's the Holy Spirit who makes the choice.' In other words: who knows who will emerge in St. Peter's Square after the white smoke billows from the papal chimney? God, only, knows.
