Latest Roman Catholicism News
Ideological rifts among U.S. bishops are in the spotlight ahead of momentous Vatican meeting
NEW YORK (AP) — Early next month, the Vatican will open an unprecedented gathering of Catholic clergy and laypeople from around the world. The synod is intended to be a collegial, collaborative event, though the agenda includes divisive issues such as the role of women in the church and the...
Catholic priests bless same-sex couples in defiance of a German archbishop
BERLIN (AP) — Several Catholic priests held a ceremony blessing same-sex couples outside Cologne Cathedral on Wednesday night in a protest against the city’s conservative archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. Their protest was triggered by Cologne church officials' criticism...
In Chile, justice eludes victims of Catholic clergy sex abuse years after the crisis exploded
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Soon after she learned what happened, Helmut Kramer’s mother grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the priest out of photographs from her son’s baptism. “She kept the photos after that,” said Kramer, who was sexually abused at age 12 in a Jesuit school...
Ox-pulled floats with sacred images of Mary draw thousands to Portugal’s wine-country procession
LAMEGO, Portugal (AP) — Galego and Cabano, two dark-haired oxen, pulled the sacred image of Our Lady of Remedies on a procession float for more than two hours through this small town in Portugal’s wine country. They remained unperturbed even when two cannons fired salutes at the...
Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century
GENEVA (AP) — A sweeping, year-long study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland published Tuesday has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal. With few...
Vatican orders investigation into Catholic clerics linked to abuse, Swiss Bishops' Conference says
BERLIN (AP) — The Vatican has ordered an investigation into high-ranking Catholic clerics in Switzerland in connection with sexual abuse, the Swiss Bishops' Conference said on Sunday. The group said in a statement that there were allegations against several active and retired...
The Vatican beatifies a Polish family of 9 killed by the Nazis for sheltering Jews
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — In an unprecedented move, the Vatican on Sunday beatified a Polish family of nine — a married couple and their small children — who were executed by the Nazis during World War II for sheltering Jews. During a ceremonious Mass in the village of Markowa, in...
Catholic-Jewish research backs reports Catholic convents sheltered 3,000-plus Roman Jews during WWII
ROME (AP) — Researchers have discovered new documentation that substantiates reports that Catholic convents and monasteries in Rome sheltered Jews during World War II, providing names of at least 3,200 Jews whose identities have been corroborated by the city’s Jewish community, officials said...
The Catholic Church defended human rights during Chile’s dictatorship. An archive tells the story
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Lined up like soldiers guarding a nation’s treasures, dozens of shelves preserve an archive that gives account of a painful episode in Chile’s history: 47,000 instances of human rights violations during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The documents...
Ukraine's Catholic bishops tell pope that his praise for Russia's imperial past 'pained' Ukrainians
ROME (AP) — Ukraine’s Greek Catholic bishops told Pope Francis on Wednesday that his words praising Russia’s imperial past had pained the Ukrainian people, bringing complaints about the Vatican’s diplomatic neutrality in Moscow's war on their country to the heart of the Holy See. ...
