Latest Roman Catholicism News
The AP Interview takeaways: Pope decries expanding gun use
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis lamented that the use of guns by civilians to defend themselves is becoming a “habit.” In an interview on Tuesday with The Associated Press, the pontiff, who has frequently criticized the arms industry, was asked about the large number of guns...
The AP Interview: Pope says homosexuality not a crime
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,”...
Pope discusses his health, his critics and future of papacy
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he hasn’t considered issuing norms to regulate future papal resignations and plans to continue for as long as he can as bishop of Rome, despite a wave of criticism from some top-ranking conservative cardinals and bishops about his papal priorities. ...
Pope warns German church reform process elitist, ideological
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has warned there’s a risk that a reform process in the German Catholic Church over calls for married priests and other possible liberalizing reforms might become harmfully “ideological.” In an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican...
Historic Black churches receive $4M in preservation grants
NEW YORK (AP) — Administrators of a trust fund established to preserve historic Black churches in the United States on Friday revealed a list of houses of worship receiving $4 million in financial grants. The list of 35 grantees includes 16th Street Baptist Church Inc. in...
Sri Lanka church seeks criminal justice for Easter bombings
Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church urged the country Friday to criminally prosecute its former leader for negligence, a day after the top court ordered him to pay compensation to the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed nearly 270 people. Two local Muslim groups that...
EXPLAINER: Benedict's funeral to be simple, but with pomp
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI held one of the world's highest-profile positions but in his final years expressed a desire to be “hidden to the world.” While his body had been on display this week for three days, his funeral Thursday will at least in part respect his wishes for...
Former Paris archbishop target of sexual assault probe
PARIS (AP) — French police are investigating an allegation that the former archbishop of Paris sexually assaulted a woman who is under legal protection as a vulnerable person, prosecutors said Wednesday. Michel Aupetit, who unexpectedly resigned in 2021 after admitting to an...
While blamed, Benedict fought sex abuse more than past popes
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is rightly credited with having been one of the 20th century’s most prolific Catholic theologians, a teacher-pope who preached the faith via volumes of books, sermons and speeches. But he rarely got credit for another important aspect of his...
Benedict leaves German homeland with complicated legacy
BERLIN (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI leaves his homeland with a complicated legacy: pride in a German pontiff but a church deeply divided over the need for reforms in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal in which his own actions of decades ago were faulted. Benedict has long drawn mixed...
