AC Wimmer

AC Wimmer

AC Wimmer (刘威猛) is the News Editor for Europe and Asia at EWTN News. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, served as editor-in-chief of several news media outlets. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, the veteran journalist is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at his alma mater and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.

Articles by AC Wimmer

French Jesuit and American legal scholar win 2022 Ratzinger Prize

Oct 7, 2022 / 03:01 am

A French Jesuit and an American legal scholar were named the recipients of this year’s Ratzinger prize on Friday.

Pope Francis mourns 23 children and several adults killed in Thailand day care attack

Oct 7, 2022 / 02:31 am

Pope Francis has expressed deep sorrow at the news of a deadly rampage at a day care center in Thailand that left more than 30 people dead — 23 of them children.

Public spat between German bishop, Swiss cardinal leads to private meeting in Rome

Oct 5, 2022 / 06:46 am

Following demands for an apology and a threat he would “file an official complaint with the Holy Father,” the German Bishops’ Conference president met with a Vatican cardinal in Rome this week.

Belgium violated right to life in euthanasia case, European Court of Human Rights rules

Oct 4, 2022 / 08:53 am

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Belgium failed to conduct a proper investigation into the circumstances of the 2012 euthanasia of Godelieva de Troyer on the grounds of “untreatable depression.” 

Gothic Revival reborn: Nottingham Cathedral receives grant to ‘Restore Pugin’

Oct 3, 2022 / 14:01 pm

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin’s design of St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham, England, is to be restored and brought back to life.

Europe’s top human rights court to rule on landmark euthanasia case

Oct 3, 2022 / 06:30 am

The European Court of Human Rights is set to rule in a landmark case on Tuesday on whether Belgium wrongly allowed a woman to be euthanized. 

Pope Francis recognizes the ‘countless acts of kindess and charity’ of Stella Maris, Apostleship of the Sea

Oct 3, 2022 / 04:50 am

Pope Francis has recognized the role of Stella Maris, the Apostleship of the Sea — the largest ship-visiting network in the world.

Let your beauty shine, Pope Francis tells young people

Sep 30, 2022 / 09:00 am

Pope Francis on Friday told young people to let their true beauty shine, the beauty that is a reflection of divine beauty. 

Vatican cardinal says he did not compare German Synodal Way to Nazi ideology

Sep 29, 2022 / 22:07 pm

A Vatican cardinal has defended himself against the accusation by the president of the German bishops’ conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, of making a “totally unacceptable gaffe” over remarks regarding the German Synodal Way.

Supporters of statue of St. Michael the Archangel in small French town vow to fight removal order

Sep 29, 2022 / 01:30 am

After a French court confirmed the removal of a statue of St. Michael from a seaside town, supporters have vowed to continue their fight.

Religion is ‘interruption,’ not continuity, German bishops’ president says

Sep 27, 2022 / 12:33 pm

Bishop Georg Bätzing spoke in a live-streamed Mass on Tuesday on the occasion of the bishops’ plenary assembly in Dulda, Germany, Sept. 26–29.

Vatican opens canonical investigation into Australian bishop

Sep 26, 2022 / 07:05 am

The Vatican has appointed Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane to oversee an investigation into former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders.

Bishops in Belgium defy Vatican, publish ceremony for blessing same-sex unions

Sep 20, 2022 / 06:27 am

In open defiance of the Vatican, Catholic bishops in Belgium on Tuesday announced the introduction of blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. 

Catholic prayers for Queen Elizabeth II — and the new king

Sep 19, 2022 / 07:24 am

While millions bid final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II today, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales have commented on the death of Her Majesty.

A ‘supermarket of religions,’ God’s will, and the wisdom of a tweaked declaration

Sep 16, 2022 / 07:52 am

A sensitive passage in the final declaration of the congress that brought Pope Francis to Kazakhstan Sept. 13–15 appears to have been changed after it found the approval of attendants.

European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop

Sep 16, 2022 / 05:08 am

The resolution, passed Sept. 15, criticized the arbitrary “arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez” and called “for his and others’ immediate and unconditional release.”

Turbulent scenes and votes for homosexuality, women’s ordination at German Synodal Way

Sep 12, 2022 / 10:00 am

The three-day event was overshadowed by turbulent scenes and early departures over the handling of contentious issues.

Synodal Way votes to establish permanent Synodal Council to oversee Church and dioceses in Germany

Sep 10, 2022 / 21:28 pm

In a move aimed at achieving what critics have compared to communist councils in the Soviet Union, participants of the German Synodal Way on Saturday voted to create a Synodal Council. 

After sex document at German Synodal Way is blocked, organizers vow to ‘take it to’ Rome

Sep 9, 2022 / 09:02 am

The document pushed for changes to the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, bisexuality, gender identity, and masturbation.

Pope Francis shares his concern about nuclear war risks in meeting with Vatican diplomats

Sep 8, 2022 / 11:00 am

The pope spoke to almost 100 apostolic nuncios and permanent observers of the Holy See who are meeting in Rome this week.