International

After abuse scandal report, French church in confession row

AFP

A row broke out on Thursday in France between the government and a leader of the Catholic church over whether confessions of child abuse made to priests should be reported to the police.

Following the publication of a report this week that estimated that Catholic clergy had abused 216,000 children since 1950, the government summoned Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort for talks about the role of confession on Thursday.

Moulins-Beaufort had angered victims’ families on Wednesday by saying that priests were not obliged to report sexual abuse if they heard about it during an act of confession, a Catholic ritual used to admit to sins.

“The secrecy of confession is a requirement and will remain a requirement. In a way, it is above the laws of the Republic. It creates a free space for speaking before God,” Moulins-Beaufort, the head of the Bishops’ Conference of France, told Franceinfo.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

His words were in line with new Vatican guidelines, released last year on handling clerical child abuse cases, which state that any crime discovered during confession is subject to “the strictest bond of the sacramental seal”.

But in France, victims’ advocates pointed out that French law recognises professional confidentiality for priests, but it does not apply in potentially criminal cases involving violence or sexual assault against minors.

“Nothing is above the laws of the Republic,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Thursday in response.

Moulins-Beaufort has been summoned to appear before Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin early next week “to explain his comments”, the minister’s office said.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has criticised ultra-conservative Muslims in the past for trying to subvert French law, asked Darmanin to hold the meeting, according to Attal.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

In a fresh statement on Thursday, Moulins-Beaufort claimed that that confession “had always been respected by the republic”.

– Shame –

The publication on Tuesday of a landmark report on sex abuse in the French Catholic church led Moulins-Beaufort to express his “shame and horror”, while Pope Francis expressed “great pain”.

The investigating commission’s two-and-a-half-year inquiry and 2,500-page report concluded that sex abuse by priests had been a “massive phenomenon” that was covered up by a “veil of silence.”

The report found that the “vast majority” of victims were pre-adolescent boys from a variety of social backgrounds. Their abusers were mainly priests, bishops, deacons and monks.

The commission recommended a series of measures to protect minors from predatory clergy, which included priests informing prosecutors of any child abuse they hear mentioned during an act of confession.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

“We need to find another way of doing this,” Moulins-Beaufort told Franceinfo during his interview on Wednesday.

The Catholic Church, which forbids priests from marrying, has been repeatedly rocked by child sex abuse scandals over the last three decades, particularly in Australia, the United States, Ireland and Germany.

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.