Catholic Church

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First Cardinal Charged With Sex Abuse of a Minor

Theodore McCarrick, now defrocked, accused of molesting 16-year-old boy

(Newser) - The Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal just reached its highest level yet inside the church. Defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been charged with molesting a 16-year-old boy decades ago in Massachusetts, reports NBC News . He is the first cardinal, former or otherwise, to be so charged. McCarrick is 91,...

Vatican Reveals Church Owns 5K Properties

Extensive release of real estate and financial records is a first for the church

(Newser) - The Catholic Church has made an unprecedented financial disclosure, revealing the extent of its real estate holdings around the world. More than 50 pages of forms released Saturday show that the Vatican owns 4,051 properties in Italy and 1,120 elsewhere, Politico reports. Vatican embassies are not included in...

Top US Catholic Official Quits After Grindr Data Exposed

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill's resignation over use of gay hookup app has split Catholics

(Newser) - Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, a top official at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, stepped down this week over alleged misconduct—but the manner of his downfall has split Catholics. Burrill resigned after the Pillar , a Catholic news site, reported that app data showed Burrill had "visited gay bars and...

Catholic Churches on Indigenous Land Burn to the Ground

Arson suspected following discovery of graves at former Catholic-run residential school in Canada

(Newser) - Two century-old Catholic churches on Indigenous land in southern British Columbia burned to the ground on Monday, Canada's National Indigenous Peoples' Day—roughly a month after the discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 children at the former Catholic-run Kamloops Indian Residential School. Flames were reported at Sacred Heart...

Supreme Court Unanimously Backs Catholic Group

Ruling says foster care organization has the right not to work with same-sex couples

(Newser) - The Supreme Court issued a ruling in a case involving same-sex couples Thursday, but the votes didn't fall into a liberal-conservative split. This was one 9-0. The court ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency in Philadelphia that will not in principle work with LGBTQ couples, reports...

Vatican to US Bishops: Don't Try to Deny Biden Communion

Issue has caused rift between Rome, conservative bishops

(Newser) - Trouble is brewing between the Vatican and American bishops over the right of America's second Catholic president to receive Communion. The Vatican has issued what the New York Times calls "a remarkably public stop sign" telling conservative bishops not to try to deny the sacrament to President Biden...

On Punishments for Church Sex Abuse, a 'Significant Rewrite'

Pope Francis signs off on first major update to penal sanctions since 1980s

(Newser) - A slew of new rules on how to handle sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has received the official green light from Pope Francis, updating a penal system that's been in place for 40 years. The Washington Post calls it "the most significant rewrite of canon law" since...

DA: Priest Who Died Friday Killed Altar Boy in 1972

Richard Lavigne was about to be arrested for murder of 13-year-old Danny Croteau

(Newser) - Defrocked Catholic priest Richard Lavigne died before he could face justice for the murder of 13-year-old altar boy Danny Croteau almost 50 years ago—but the victim's older brother believes Lavigne is now facing a higher power. Danny was found dead in a Springfield, Massachusetts, river on April 14,...

Sicilian Judge Killed By Mafia Moves a Step From Sainthood

Pope calls Rosario Livatino a 'martyr of justice'

(Newser) - A Sicilian judge who was called a martyr by Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis has moved to one step from sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. The beatification of Rosario Livatino took place Sunday at the cathedral in Agrigento, near the spot where the judge was shot to...

Bishops Could Vote on Biden Taking Communion

President's support for abortion rights bothers some in the church

(Newser) - President Biden presents a dilemma to some Catholic bishops. He's demonstrative about his faith, attending Mass regularly and saying the rosary when he has a moment of solitude. But Biden supports abortion rights, which the Catholic Church opposes. That difference will come up for discussion by the US Conference...

Jesuits Promise $100M for Slavery Reparations

Trust will benefit descendants of enslaved people, including those sold by Jesuits in 1838

(Newser) - The Catholic order of Jesuit priests has pledged to raise $100 million for descendants of the enslaved people it owned in what the New York Times reports is "one of the largest efforts by an institution to atone for slavery." The order relied on slave labor and sales...

Vatican on Gay Unions: We 'Cannot Bless Sin'

Catholic Church rules priests can't sanction same-sex unions

(Newser) - The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin," per the AP . The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay...

Pope Names Women to Posts Only Men Had Held

French nun will be the first woman to vote in the Synod of Bishops

(Newser) - Pope Francis has taken two steps to empower women in the Catholic Church's hierarchy, answering calls for change from laypeople, some bishops, and the pope himself. In both cases, women have been appointed to positions that until now have been held only by men, NBC reports. Nathalie Becquart, a...

Pope: Women Still Can't Be Priests, but They Can Read at Church

Francis changes law to allow women to take on more responsibilities during Mass

(Newser) - Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly allow women to do more things during Mass, while reaffirming they can't be priests. Francis amended the law to formalize what's common practice in many parts of the world: that women can read the Gospel and serve on the altar...

Pope Doesn't Appear to Be a Fan of This Nativity Scene

Vatican's choice for St. Peter's Square has a sci-fi theme

(Newser) - Without directly adding his own art criticism of the Nativity scene chosen by the Vatican this year for St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis has made his preference clear. Twice when speaking the faithful in the square on Sunday, the pope suggested they instead visit the 100 small, more traditional...

Protesters Demand Masses Resume
Protesters:
'We Want Mass'
Nov 15, 2020 10:30 AM CST

Protesters: 'We Want Mass'

France allows church visits but no services during partial lockdown

(Newser) - With banners reading "Let us Pray" and "We Want Mass," Catholic protesters held scattered demonstrations around France on Sunday to demand that authorities relax virus lockdown measures to allow religious services. In the western city of Nantes, hundreds gathered in front of a statue of the Virgin...

Abortion Ruling Protests Disrupt Mass in Poland

Court's decision prohibits abortion in the case of congenital defects

(Newser) - Women's rights activists in Poland staged protests during Sunday church services in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation against further restrictions in the nation's abortion law. In the fourth straight day of protests, activists held up banners during Mass in some churches, according to Polish media and social media...

New Twist in Story of Pope's Remarks on Same-Sex Unions

Vatican removed quote from 2019 interview footage, sources say

(Newser) - Somebody at the Vatican apparently didn't want the world to hear Pope Francis' thoughts on same-sex civil unions . It emerged Thursday that the pontiff's statement of support for civil unions, which kicked off a major controversy when new documentary Francesco premiered Wednesday, was made during a 2019 interview...

Exorcism Performed Where Statue Came Down in California

The archbishop of San Francisco said prayers in Latin

(Newser) - The archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150...

Priest Fired, Altar Burned Over Scene Witnessed by Passerby

Travis Clark, 37, allegedly filmed himself having sex on the altar

(Newser) - Peer inside a church window lately? Bet you didn't see the pastor having sex with two women on a church altar with stage lighting, cameras, and sex toys. But a passerby apparently saw just that inside a Catholic church in Louisiana on Sept. 30, the Times-Picayune reports. Court documents...

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