Latest Roman Catholicism News
'God have mercy': Tigray residents describe life under siege
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — As food and the means to buy it dwindled in a city under siege, the young mother felt she could do no more. She killed herself, unable to feed her children. In a Catholic church across town, flour and oil to make communion wafers will soon run out....
Ex-Omaha Archdiocese chancellor charged in theft case
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former chancellor for the Roman Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of Omaha has been charged with two felony counts accusing him of stealing a total of more than $285,000 from a former priest and from a Springfield parish. The Rev. Michael Gutgsell,...
KBI say it has opened 122 clergy sex abuse cases in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A task force formed three years ago to investigate clergy sexual abuse in Kansas Catholic dioceses has received 215 tips and opened 122 cases, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Robert Jacobs, executive officer of the KBI, reported on...
Biden to meet with Pope Francis to discuss COVID-19, climate
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to meet Pope Francis when he visits the Vatican later this month as part of a five-day swing through Italy and the U.K. for global economic and climate change meetings. Biden plans to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the...
Italy high court nixes arrest warrant for Vatican suspect
ROME (AP) — Italy’s highest court has annulled an arrest warrant for a key suspect in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial, his lawyers said Wednesday, putting into question whether and when he might be extradited from Britain. In a decision Tuesday, the Court...
Vatican-backed sex abuse research institute expands mandate
ROME (AP) — The Catholic Church’s foremost research institute studying sexual abuse of minors is expanding its mandate to also include the sexual and spiritual abuse of adults, evidence of the Vatican's increasing awareness that children aren’t the only victims of clergy who abuse their...
Pope OKs crediting miracle to John Paul I on sainthood path
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday approved the crediting of what was described as the miraculous healing of a child to the intercession of John Paul I, advancing the cause for sainthood for one of his predecessors who died 33 days after being elected pontiff in 1978. ...
'It's not Satanism': Zimbabwe church leaders preach vaccines
SEKE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Yvonne Binda stands in front of a church congregation, all in pristine white robes, and tells them not to believe what they’ve heard about COVID-19 vaccines. “The vaccine is not linked to Satanism,” she says. The congregants, members of a...
In Brazil, Catholic pilgrims defy COVID to celebrate saint
APARECIDA, Brazil (AP) — Tens of thousands of worshippers braved the pandemic to make a pilgrimage to the vast Aparecida basilica in the interior of Sao Paulo state, some traveling on foot for days to reach Tuesday's celebration of the nation’s patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida. ...
Europe court rejects case seeking to blame Vatican for abuse
ROME (AP) — A European court agreed Tuesday that the Vatican couldn't be sued in a local court for sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests, affirming that it enjoys sovereign immunity and that the misconduct of priests and their superiors can't be attributed to the Holy See. ...
