Latest Roman Catholicism News
DeSantis recruiters eyed Catholic church for migrant flights that bishop calls 'reprehensible'
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recruiters set their sights on Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Texas border city of El Paso in search of asylum-seekers they could take from its bustling migrant shelter to California's capital on taxpayer-funded private jets. ...
What happens to papal power when a pope is unconscious? Nothing
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis' three-hour surgery Wednesday raised a question about what happens to papal power when a pope is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated and cannot lead the Catholic Church. The answer: nothing. While many countries regulate the transfer of...
Pope warns of risk of corruption in missionary fundraising after AP investigation
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis warned the Vatican’s missionary fundraisers on Saturday not to allow financial corruption to creep into their work, insisting that spirituality and spreading the Gospel must drive their operations, not mere entrepreneurship. Francis made the...
Vatican singles out bishops in urging reflective not reactive social media use
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday urged the Catholic faithful, and especially bishops, to be “reflective, not reactive” on social media, issuing guidelines to try to tame the toxicity on Catholic Twitter and other social media platforms and encourage users to instead be “loving...
Another deceased Jesuit priest accused of sex abuse in Bolivia as pedophilia scandal grows
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A Spanish Jesuit priest who died in 2012 has been accused of sexually abusing a minor in Bolivia three decades ago, the latest in a string of pedophilia cases that have shaken the Catholic Church in this Andean country. Jorge Vila Despujol, who died in...
Bolivia's Catholic Church acknowledges being 'deaf' to sex abuse victims
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia acknowledged Wednesday that the church had been deaf to the suffering of victims of sexual abuse, commenting as a pedophilia scandal involving priests is rocking the country. In a statement, the Andean...
Vatican confirms August trip by pope to Lisbon for World Youth Day, including Fatima stop
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis will travel to Portugal for World Youth Day in the first week of August and include a stop at the popular Marian shrine in Fatima, the Vatican said Monday. The Aug. 2-6 visit is longer than originally expected and covers almost the entire week of the big...
How Mexico City's mural movement transformed walls into art
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Across the main entrance of a former Jesuit college in the heart of Mexico City, a bright-colored mural depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe represents both the Indigenous religiosity and the Christianity that shaped the culture of post-colonial Mexico. The mural was...
Bolivia to investigate late Spanish priest accused of abuse
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The top Bolivian prosecutor launched an investigation Monday into a late Spanish priest who allegedly abused several minors in Bolivia dating back to the 1980s. The case of Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who died in 2009, came to light over the...
Pope allows women to vote at upcoming bishops' meeting
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, an 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...
