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

Will the German ‘Synodal Way’ lead to a permanent ‘Synodal Council’?

Sep 7, 2022 / 06:31 am

Shortly before the next assembly of the German “Synodal Way,” one of the founders confirmed the goal of establishing a permanent “Synodal Council.” 

Dutch diocese abandons rule to offer Mass in every parish on Sundays

Sep 6, 2022 / 10:00 am

Due to a shortage of priests and to save on energy costs, the Diocese of Roermond in the Netherlands said it was abandoning its previous rule.

German bishop: Evangelizing secular society requires sharing ‘the reasonableness of faith’

Sep 5, 2022 / 07:18 am

The director of Benedict XVI Institute says a “healthy defense of the faith” is necessary if Catholics are to credibly spread the Gospel.

German court rules in favor of right to pray near abortion counseling facility

Sep 1, 2022 / 03:50 am

Silent prayer gatherings near an abortion counseling facility in a German town cannot be prohibited, according to a ruling by the Mannheim Administrative Court. 

International website dedicated to Benedict XVI aims to be a ‘beacon in stormy seas’

Aug 30, 2022 / 05:15 am

After a website dedicated to Benedict XVI received thousands of congratulations in 24 languages on the occasion of his 95th birthday this year, the organizers moved to take it international — and broaden its scope.

197 cardinals meet behind closed doors — but what is being discussed?

Aug 29, 2022 / 11:22 am

The cardinals of the Catholic Church have been called to Rome for an extraordinary consistory. It is the first of its kind in seven years — and only the second of the pontificate of Pope Francis.

Vatican Cardinal decries criticism of German ‘Synodal Way’ as ‘denunciation’

Aug 29, 2022 / 10:05 am

The chief organizer of the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality has decried as “denunciation" the number of public criticism of the German "Synodal Way." 

'Taken out of context': Pontifical Academy defends Archbishop Paglia's abortion law remarks

Aug 29, 2022 / 06:49 am

The Pontifical Academy for Life on Monday clarified remarks of the Academy's president on Italian television that the law legalizing abortion in Italy was a "pillar of society".

The date is set: 'Apostle of the Catechism' to be declared a saint of the Catholic Church

Aug 27, 2022 / 08:34 am

A renowned Italian priest and bishop dedicated to evangelization and teaching the Catechism will be declared a saint of the Catholic Church.

Father’s civil claim against Cardinal Pell and Australian archdiocese to go forward

Aug 25, 2022 / 07:15 am

An Australian court ruled that a man can sue the Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal George Pell for nervous shock over the alleged sexual abuse of his late son.

Australian Anglicans split over same-sex marriage

Aug 18, 2022 / 09:38 am

An attempt by the Sydney archdiocese to affirm that marriage is only between a man and a woman was narrowly voted down at a synod in May, leading to a schism within the Anglican church.

Swiss bishops' Synod report: Catholic Church denies equality to women and excludes LGBT people

Aug 16, 2022 / 09:02 am

The Swiss Bishops' Conference's report from the Synod says the Catholic Church was seen as suffering from clericalism as well as “denying equality to women” and excluding “people with LGBTQ identity.”

Reports of at least 40 people killed in church fire in Egypt

Aug 14, 2022 / 05:50 am

At least 40 people have died in a Coptic church fire in Egypt — most of them were children under the age of six, according to media reports.

Majority of German Catholics don't like Church being against abortion, poll finds

Aug 11, 2022 / 06:58 am

According to a new representative poll, 58% of German Catholics do not like "the fact that the Pope and the Church speak out against abortions." 

German bishop, accused of abuse, found to have helped wanted pedophile priests escape to Latin America

Aug 8, 2022 / 10:00 am

The now-deceased prelate allegedly used money from the German Bishops' Conference to financially support other alleged perpetrators.

Ahead of trip to Kazakhstan, Pope Francis meets with Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthony

Aug 5, 2022 / 08:22 am

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the new head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, met with Pope Francis today. 

Pope Francis calls on young people to turn to Jesus like Blessed Carlo Acutis did

Aug 5, 2022 / 07:13 am

Pope Francis told young Catholics on Friday that Jesus is not just a moral precept but a person and a great friend. 

Pope Francis: Canada's residential schools system was 'cultural genocide'

Jul 30, 2022 / 03:09 am

Pope Francis has agreed with the view that the forced removal of Indigenous children and their treatment in Canada’s residential school system was a form of “cultural genocide.”

Pope Francis says he has 'said all he has to say' in 2019 letter to German Catholics about the 'Synodal Way'

Jul 30, 2022 / 02:22 am

The latest Vatican intervention against the German "Synodal Way" was published by the Secretariat of State, but he himself has said “everything he had to say” in his own letter to German Catholics, Pope Francis told journalists.

As Anglican bishops gather, deep divisions over statement on banning same-sex marriage emerge

Jul 26, 2022 / 13:07 pm

Following criticism from Anglican bishops, participants in the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England will be given the opportunity to “clearly state their opposition” to a motion against same-sex marriage and blessings of homosexual unions.