Latest Roman Catholicism News
Orthodox Church's top patriarch to visit US, meet with Biden
The spiritual leader of the world’s 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians brings an agenda spanning religious, political and environmental issues to a 12-day U.S. visit beginning Saturday that includes a meeting with President Joe Biden and various ceremonial and interfaith gatherings. ...
South Sudanese refugees find home, and church, in Syracuse
(RNS) — On the corner of East Avenue and West Yates Street in East Syracuse, New York, sits Emmanuel Episcopal Church. The quaint building, with its bright white exterior and cherry red doors, is the home to not one, but two distinct congregations. The first, a modest parish of 25...
Man gets 11 years in prison for drowning daughter in church
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the 2016 drowning of his 4-year-old daughter in the baptismal pool of a Catholic church. Gerardo Mendoza, 47, had been smoking methamphetamine for three days and began believing...
Across Africa, major churches strongly oppose LGBTQ rights
In Ghana, home to a diverse array of religions, leaders of major churches have united in denouncing homosexuality as a “perversion” and endorsing legislation that would, if enacted, impose some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ policies in Africa. In Nigeria, the umbrella...
Lincoln bishop reassigns priests accused of misconduct
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln Diocese has reassigned and placed restrictions on a pair of priests after an investigation into misconduct claims. The reassigned priests are Scott Courtney, who faced allegations that he had sexual contact with a woman, and Thomas...
Retired pope hopes to soon join friends in 'the afterlife'
ROME (AP) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI has said he hopes to soon join a beloved professor friend in “the afterlife,” in a sign that the 94-year-old pontiff is not only accepting his eventual death but welcoming it. Benedict penned an Oct. 2 letter to a German priest,...
Pope praises freedom of children after boy gets a skullcap
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday praised the “spontaneity and freedom” of children after a young boy approached him during his weekly general audience and motioned that he wanted the pope’s white skullcap. A good-humored Francis kept the boy by his...
New Crookston bishop says sexual abuse victims are priority
CROOKSTON, Minn. (AP) — The new bishop of the Crookston diocese said Monday he has learned important lessons about how the Roman Catholic church should respond to abuse by priests. Bishop Andrew Cozzens replaced Bishop Michael Hoeppner, who resigned earlier this year at...
Victims express frustration with archdiocese bankruptcy case
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — It’s been nearly three years since the Archdiocese of Santa Fe filed for bankruptcy, and letters sent to a federal judge reflect impatience with the pace of the proceedings. At least 16 letters have gone to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Thuma...
Jill Biden says SC 'prayer partner' helped change her life
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — For years, Jill Biden couldn’t bring herself to pray, her faith shattered by the 2015 death of her son Beau from brain cancer at age 46. She felt “betrayed, broken.” Then a face in the crowd at one of her husband's stops in 2019 as he...
