Catholic Church

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State AG Releases Stunning Report on Church Sex Abuse

Report alleges 451 Catholic clergy in Illinois abused nearly 2K children from 1950 to 2019

(Newser) - In 2018, a grand jury report was released in Pennsylvania naming 300-plus "predator priests" in the state accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over a period of seven decades. Partly inspired by those revelations, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan started a probe in her own state,...

Connecticut Priest Happy About 'Very Cool Miracle'

Church asks Vatican to weigh in on whether one took place during communion

(Newser) - A Catholic church is Connecticut is wondering whether it might have a miracle on its hands. In fact, St. Thomas Catholic Church in Thomaston has rounded up the evidence and asked the Vatican to formally weigh in, reports the Hartford Courant . The particulars are pretty straight-forward: In March, a lay...

Pope Approves 'Significant Crack in Stained-Glass Ceiling'

Women will have the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops

(Newser) - Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, and the AP reports that's a historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church. Francis approved changes...

Real-Life Crucifixions Are Back After 3-Year COVID Pause

Church frowns on Good Friday reenactment of Jesus' suffering, but it's tradition in Philippines

(Newser) - Eight Filipinos were nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ's suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that draws thousands of devotees and tourists to the Philippines, despite the practice being rejected by the Catholic Church. The real-life crucifixions in the farming village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga...

State Report on Church Abuse Finds 'Astonishing' Scope

Maryland says Baltimore Archdiocese often did little to stop the torture and abuse

(Newser) - Maryland's attorney general released the results Wednesday of a four-year state investigation into the sexual abuse and torture of children by clergy members and employees of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The report covers the totality of 80 years of mistreatment, during which it says 156 members of Catholic clergy...

Pope Confirms Adults Can Be Abuse Victims

Change in church law now applies to lay leaders

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when they are unable to freely consent. With...

&#39;We Still Call Him Georgio&#39;
'We Still Call Him Giorgio'
the rundown
Mar 13, 2023 11:34 AM CDT

'We Still Call Him Giorgio'

Pope Francis quietly celebrates a 10-year milestone

(Newser) - It's been 10 years since a guy named Jorge Bergoglio became the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, with the white smoke emerging from the Sistine Chapel to signal that a new pope—the first from Latin America—had been selected. The then-76-year-old Pope Francis was seen as an...

A Catholic First: Cardinal Admits Abusing Minor

78-year-old Jean-Pierre Ricard says he abused 14-year-old girl in 1980s, steps down

(Newser) - Jean-Pierre Ricard has become the first Catholic cardinal to publicly admit to abusing a minor, according to reports. The French cardinal said Monday that he "behaved in a reprehensible way with a young girl aged 14" as a priest in the archdiocese of Marseille in the 1980s and "...

After Telling School of Accused Priest on Payroll, a Giant Fine

New Orleans attorney Richard Trahant says he'll appeal the $400K payment to archdiocese

(Newser) - A lawyer who alerted a Catholic high school to past sexual misconduct by its chaplain has been fined $400,000 for violating confidentiality rules by speaking out. Attorney Richard Trahant says he'll appeal the decision handed down Tuesday, which gives him 30 days to pay the Archdiocese of New...

Court Rejects Lawsuit From Teacher Fired by Archdiocese

Joshua Payne-Elliott was dismissed for being in a same-sex marriage

(Newser) - Update: The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against a teacher trying to sue the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis over his dismissal for being in a same-sex marriage. The ruling says religious institutions have a First Amendment right to decide church issues, the AP reports. "We fear for...

Francis Installs 20 Cardinals
Francis Installs
20 Cardinals
Aug 27, 2022 3:40 PM CDT

Francis Installs 20 Cardinals

Pope has now chosen most of the men who will choose his successor

(Newser) - Pope Francis elevated 20 more churchmen to the rank of cardinal on Saturday, formally expanding the group eligible to vote for his successor in the event he dies or resigns—the latter a step he has said he'd consider if the need arises. Of the churchmen named new cardinals...

Nicaragua Raids Church Residence, Arresting Bishop

Police knock down door at 3am, taking other priests and seminarians to prison

(Newser) - Nicaraguan riot police raided a Roman Catholic diocese's headquarters at 3am Friday, knocking the door down and taking a bishop and several priests and seminarians into custody. The raid was on the residence of Bishop Rolando Álvarez in the northern city of Matagalpa, the Wall Street Journal reports....

Canada Finds Pope's Apology Inadequate

Trudeau and Indigenous survivors note that Francis didn't mention sexual abuse in schools

(Newser) - The Canadian government made clear Wednesday that Pope Francis' apology to Indigenous peoples for abuses in the country's church-run residential schools didn't go far enough, suggesting that reconciliation over the fraught history is still very much a work in progress. The official government reaction came as Francis arrived...

Courts OK Sale of Churches to Compensate Abuse Victims

Newfoundland archdiocese is liable for decades of abuse at Mt. Cashel orphanages

(Newser) - Canadian courts have approved the sale of 43 Catholic Church properties to raise money to pay victims who were abused decades ago at the Mount Cashel orphanage. The Newfoundland archdiocese's parcels include 13 churches, the CBC reports. It's not clear what will become of many of the properties...

Hot Vatican Rumor: Might Pope Francis Retire?

He did once say Pope Benedict opened 'the door' for future pontiffs to retire

(Newser) - Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate by announcing he would visit the central Italian city of L'Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013, the...

'Brazen Crime of Disrespect and Hate' at Brooklyn Church

Thieves made off with $2M relic, beheaded angel statues

(Newser) - Police say someone busted into the altar at a New York City church, stole a $2 million gold relic, and removed the head from a statue of an angel at some point late last week. The incident happened between 6:30pm Thursday and 4pm Saturday at St. Augustine’s Roman...

Pelosi Sees Some Hypocrisy in Communion Decision

She questions why death-penalty supporters aren't denied the Eucharist

(Newser) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back Tuesday on the decision by San Francisco's conservative Catholic archbishop to deny her Communion over her support of abortion rights, saying she respects that people have opposing views but not when they impose them on others, reports the AP . In comments made on...

Archbishop to Pelosi: No More Communion for You

San Francisco's Salvatore Cordileone says House speaker must repudiate support for abortion rights

(Newser) - The conservative Catholic archbishop of San Francisco said Friday that he'll no longer allow US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion because of her support for abortion rights. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said he sent Pelosi a letter April 7 expressing his concerns after she vowed to codify the...

Pope Proclaims 10 New Saints
Pope Proclaims 10 New Saints
May 15, 2022 11:45 AM CDT

Pope Proclaims 10 New Saints

Thousands join Francis for first canonization ceremony in over 2 years

(Newser) - Pope Francis on Sunday created 10 new saints, including a Dutch priest-journalist who was killed by the Nazis, a lay Indian convert who was killed for his faith, and a half-dozen French and Italian priests and nuns who founded religious orders. Francis told the crowd of more than 45,000...

Pope Picks Nun Among New High Officials

Appointments are part of Francis' overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy

(Newser) - Pope Francis made major appointments in his newly overhauled Vatican bureaucracy Saturday, naming new deputies for the doctrine office and confirming the highest-ranked woman in the Holy See as the No. 2 in the development office. The appointments are some of the first since Francis last month issued his long-awaited...

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