Luxembourg cardinal calls for revised Catholic teaching on gays; German archbishop backs loosening of celibacy rules
Vatican CityReuters A prominent liberal cardinal who leads a body representing European bishops has called for “fundamental revision” in Catholic teaching on homosexuality, and said it is wrong to fire Church workers for being gay. The remarks by Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich to the German Catholic news agency KNA were among the most direct calls […]
Victims seek definitive European ruling on Vatican immunity
Rome, ItalyAP Clergy abuse victims asked the European Court of Human Rights on Thursday to make a definitive ruling on whether the Holy See can continue to avoid being held liable for sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests by claiming state immunity. Lawyers for the victims asked the court’s Grand Chamber to hear the case, […]
Catholic Church: US clergy shortage eased by recruits from Africa
KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU, of Associated Press, reports on how Catholic priests from Africa are finding vocations in the US…
Updated: French clergy sexually abused over 200,000 children since 1950, probe finds
Updated 7.30am, 6th October, 2021Paris, FranceReuters French clergy have sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years, a major investigation released on Tuesday found, and its authors accused the Catholic Church of turning a blind eye for too long. The church had shown “deep, total and even cruel indifference for years,” protecting […]
Synod 2023: Pope Francis is preparing a radical reform of the church’s power structures
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, of Religion News Service, reports on preparations for the upcoming 2023 Synod…
Essay: As South Sudan turns 10, questions over the role of the church emerge amid anti-clerical violence
In an article first published on The Conversation, CHRISTOPHER TOUNSEL, author of ‘Chosen Peoples: Christianity and Political Imagination in South Sudan’, looks at how an examination of role of the church in South Sudan’s establishment can speak to the current situation in the decade-old nation…
Pope ordains nine priests, saying: Stay humble, compassionate
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis on Sunday gave the Catholic church nine new priests, encouraging them in an ordination ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica to be humble and compassionate and to stay close to the rank-and-file faithful, whose trust in clergy has been sorely tested by decades of sex abuse scandals. Professing obedience to the pontiff […]
Catholic Church: German bishops’ summit considers women and lay roles as answer to abuse crisis
CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ, writing for Religion News Service, reports on the resumption this week of deliberations among German Catholic bishops on some of the most controversial issues facing the church, not only in Germany, but across the globe…
Rights group pledges to defend clerical sex abuse victims
Mexico CityAP The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights pledged this week to defend victims of clerical sex abuse and work to ensure member countries do better at protecting children and punishing such cases. Commission Vice President Flávia Piovesan told a hearing on the subject Thursday that “you have our firm and absolute commitment that we […]
Female priests now outnumber male ones in Church of Sweden
Stockholm, SwedenAP The Church of Sweden has more female than male priests for the first time, according to numbers released this month, a sign of huge strides for gender equality since women were first allowed to be ordained in 1960. The Lutheran institution, which was the official Swedish state church until 2000, now counts 1,533 […]