Jeanie Hannaman

By Bishop Joseph Strickland, Catholics for Catholics, (Complicit Clergy) - In times of great need and spiritual battle, the Church turns to prayer. As we look upon this solemn moment, in which the Chair of Peter stands vacant once more, we place our trust in God’s providence and pray fervently for the election of a pope who is holy, courageous, and faithful to the unchanging teachings of Christ and His Church.  This novena is offered in anticipation of the next papal conclave. Each day includes a reflection and prayer intention, asking the Holy Ghost to guide the cardinals and raise up a shepherd after the Heart of Christ.

By Mary Ann Glendon,  First Things, (Complicit Clergy) - When Pope Francis took office in 2013, he was immediately confronted with a new scandal in the Institute of Religious Works (popularly known as the Vatican Bank) where there had already been scandals enough to delight novelists and filmmakers for years. It was encouraging that the new pope acted right away to appoint a commission (on which I served) to investigate the troubled institution. Though we had full powers to examine all records and question anyone, we were stonewalled at every turn by bank officials. To get a sense of what was going on, I and another commissioner interviewed nearly every one of the bank’s 115 employees, but we found that assurances of confidentiality from the pope himself could not overcome their terror of speaking frankly. ...