Catholic Church

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Church Reputation May Take Priority Over 'Survivor Support'

1st report from Vatican commission on clerical sexual abuse criticized for lack of data

(Newser) - A decade after it formed, a Vatican commission on clerical sexual abuse issued its first of what is to become an annual report on Tuesday and met immediate criticism, the New York Times reports. "I understand that it won't satisfy everybody and it won't satisfy survivors,"...

LA Archbishop: 'I Am Sorry for Every One of These Incidents'

Archdiocese of Los Angeles agrees to pay whopping $880M to victims of clergy sex abuse

(Newser) - The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades, in what an attorney said was the largest single settlement with a Catholic archdiocese over child sex abuse. After the Wednesday announcement of the agreement in principle, Archbishop Jose H....

Pope Names 21 Cardinals, Including a 99-Year-Old

Many come from 'the church's edges,' church historian says

(Newser) - Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor. They include a man who will be the oldest cardinal: Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old retired Vatican...

Belgium's King, PM Had Strong Words for Pope

'When something goes wrong we cannot accept cover-ups,' PM says of sex abuse scandals

(Newser) - Belgium's prime minister blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church's horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups, demanding "concrete steps" to come clean with the past and put victims' interests ahead those of the institution in a blistering welcome at the start of Francis' visit on...

Pope Allows Pilgrimages to Site of Reported Apparitions

Vatican, however, is not authenticating purported sightings of the Virgin Mary in Bosnia

(Newser) - The Vatican on Thursday gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a southern Bosnian village where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, per the AP . In a detailed analysis after nearly 15 years of study, the Vatican's doctrine office didn't declare that the...

Archbishop Excommunicated for the 'Crime of Schism'

In rare move, Vatican boots Carlo Maria Vigano for not recognizing Pope Francis, among other things

(Newser) - Carlo Maria Vigano used to be the Vatican's envoy to the United States. Today, he's a former archbishop, excommunicated on Friday in a rare move by the Holy See for refusing to recognize Pope Francis, among other things, per the Washington Post . On June 20, Vigano announced he'...

Church Moves Teenager a Step From Sainthood
Millennial Teenager
Will Become a Saint
UPDATED
May 23, 2024 2:50 PM CDT

Millennial Teenager Will Become a Saint

Carlo Acutis 'used the internet in service of the Gospel'

(Newser) - Carlo Acutis is about to become the first millennial saint. The BBC reports Pope Francis on Thursday issued a decree recognizing a second miracle attributed to the teen, who died in 2006 at age 15 from leukemia. Acutis was beatified in 2020 after a first miracle was attributed to him:...

Swear You Saw Stigmata? Vatican Has New Guidelines

Church officials update norms to confirm Virgin Mary visions, other supernatural claims

(Newser) - The Catholic Church has a long and controversial history of the faithful claiming to have had visions of the Virgin Mary, of statues that purportedly wept blood tears, and of stigmata that erupted on hands mimicking the wounds of Christ. On Friday, the Vatican will announce new norms to help...

Despite 'Spiritual Halo,' Nuns Are Part of Something Darker

Victims who are sexually abused by women of the cloth aren't often discussed in church sex scandals

(Newser) - On Wednesdays, the support group meets over Zoom. Members talk about their lives, religious families, and old parochial schools. But mostly, they're there to talk about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Catholic nuns—and it's a topic that deserves more attention, they say. The...

Church 'Outraged' Over Funeral for Trans Activist
Church 'Outraged'
at 'Scandalous'
Funeral
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 24, 2024 6:30 AM CST

Church 'Outraged' at 'Scandalous' Funeral

Trans activist Cecilia Gentili was memorialized at an iconic New York church, in iconic fashion

(Newser) - The funeral of a trans activist that was held at Manhattan's iconic St. Patrick's Cathedral went viral last week, and now the Archdiocese of New York is speaking out against it in no uncertain terms. Cecilia Gentili, who died at age 52, was a "pillar" of the...

He Kept Vatican's Secrets for 45 Years. Now He's Retiring

Retiring prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive reveals how US funds paid for 1922 peculiar conclave

(Newser) - The Vatican has been trying for years to debunk the idea that its vaunted secret archives are all that secret: It has opened up the files of controversial World War II-era Pope Pius XII to scholars and changed the official name to remove the word "Secret" from its title....

Senior Adviser to Pope Faces Sexual Assault Allegation

Lawsuit names Quebec cardinal in late 1980s abuse

(Newser) - Canadian Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, a senior adviser to Pope Francis, has been named in a class-action lawsuit accusing him of sexual assaults in 1987 and '88. The suit accuses Lacroix of sexually touching a female teenager without her consent on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reports. A new...

After Pope's Public Comments, Nicaragua Frees Jailed Bishop

Along with 18 other clergy members

(Newser) - Nicaragua's government released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities, who welcomed them in Rome on Sunday. Bishop Rolando Alvarez—described by the New York Times as "one of the most...

Vatican Restricts Minnesota Archbishop

Investigation finds John Nienstedt didn't break church law but took 'imprudent' actions

(Newser) - A lengthy Vatican investigation into misconduct allegations against Archbishop John Nienstedt, former leader of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, concluded that he took "imprudent" actions but did not violate church law, the archdiocese announced Friday. However, the archdiocese said Nienstedt, who is still an archbishop, remains barred...

Pope: Priests Can Bless Same-Sex Couples

Those seeking God's love and mercy shouldn't be subject to 'exhaustive moral analysis' to get it

(Newser) - If same-sex couples go to their priest looking for a blessing, Pope Francis is cool with it. This news comes via a new document approving a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God's love and mercy shouldn't be subject to "an exhaustive moral...

Israeli Sniper Kills Two Women Taking Shelter at Gaza Church

Catholic officials report a mother and daughter were shot 'in cold blood'

(Newser) - Two women who had fled to a church in Gaza for refuge were killed there "in cold blood" by an Israeli sniper, Catholic officials said. The women were mother and daughter, the Washington Post reports. They were shot without warning while walking to a convent in the complex, "...

Vatican Bends Its Rules Regarding Ashes of the Dead

Families may request to keep a small portion, so long as the rest resides in a sacred space

(Newser) - The Vatican has slightly softened its stance when it comes to the ashes of the dead, saying Tuesday that Catholic families may keep a small portion of their relative's cremated ashes in a "place of significance" to them rather than in a church or cemetery. It's the...

Vatican Reminds Catholics Freemasonry Is Banned

Church believes those Catholics who join are in a state of 'grave sin'

(Newser) - In 1738, Pope Clement XII declared Freemasonry an excommunicable offense, and the Catholic Church's position hasn't softened much since then. The Vatican this week confirmed its ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a secretive and ritualistic society with an estimated 6 million members worldwide. "Active membership in Freemasonry...

This Is Not Your Father's Catholic Priest

Catholic priest Guilherme Peixoto spreads the gospel as a DJ

(Newser) - Guilherme Peixoto, a village priest in northern Portugal, has been busy this month celebrating Masses at his two parishes, presiding over remembrances for the dead—and, as the AP reports, preparing the electronic music set for his next international DJ gig. What started nearly two decades ago as a novel...

Pope's Meeting Calls Expanding Women's Church Roles 'Urgent'

Session is part of Francis' effort to include laypeople in decision-making

(Newser) - Pope Francis' big gathering of Catholic bishops and laypeople declared Saturday that guaranteeing fuller participation of women in church governance is "urgent," calling for research on allowing women to be deacons to be released within a year. After a month of closed-door debate, the Vatican meeting on the...

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