St. Michael is most searched in areas with strong protective traditions, while Marian devotion stands out in immigrant-rich states Photo: Mondo Cattolico

Australian seminary reverses vocational winter: opens with highest number of students since 2017

While 14 may not seem like a transformative number, in the context of Australia’s dwindling priesthood, it represents a glimmer of hope. The country, where Catholics make up roughly 23 percent of the population, has experienced a steady decline in clergy numbers over the past few decades. In 1991, Australia had approximately 4,500 Catholic priests. By 2021, that number had fallen to 2,900, according to Catholic Australia.

Nicaragua: regime expropriates convent of Poor Clare nuns, after expelling them and expropriating also a seminary

The suppression of Catholic institutions has accelerated dramatically, with priests, religious orders, and even bishops becoming direct targets of Ortega’s government. Since his return to power, the Diocese of Matagalpa alone has lost over 60 percent of its clergy. Nationally, Nicaragua has seen a 20 percent reduction in its Catholic clergy due to arrests, expulsions, and forced exile.

Fourth priest ex-communicated for denying that Francis is Pope

His defiant stance, rooted in the claim that Pope Benedict XVI never truly abdicated, mirrors a rising undercurrent of skepticism within a faction of Catholics who have refused to recognize the authority of Francis since Benedict’s resignation in 2013. The Vatican’s swift response signals its determination to curb what it sees as a dangerous theological rebellion.