Latest Roman Catholicism News

Rioters ignore pleas for calm as violence flares in Belfast
BELFAST (AP) — Police in Northern Ireland deployed water cannons for the first time in six years Thursday as they tried to disperse protesters who hurled stones, fireworks and gasoline-filled bottles at officers during another night of violence in Belfast. The violence...

'How many of us will be left?' Catholic nuns face loss, pain
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — At the front desk, the kindly nun who greeted visitors is missing, and in the chapel, where stained glass paints the walls with pastels, she no longer waves hello from the last pew on the left. In the convent’s living room, Sister Mary Evelyn Labik isn’t resting...
New Mexico latest state to adopt medically assisted suicide
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has become the latest state to provide a legal pathway for terminally ill patients to choose when and how they die. On Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act, named for a New Mexico...

Defrocked US priest revered in East Timor accused of abuse
It was the same every night. A list of names was posted on the Rev. Richard Daschbach’s bedroom door. The child at the top of the roster knew it was her turn to share the lower bunk with the elderly priest and another elementary school-aged girl. Daschbach was idolized...
Green Bay pastor appointed to serve the Diocese of Duluth
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth could finally have a new bishop in place next month following the 2019 death of its longtime leader and the resignation of his chosen replacement. The Very Rev. Daniel Felton, a longtime pastor in the Diocese of...

AP PHOTOS: Holy Week muted but joyful for world's Christians
Christians around the globe celebrated Holy Week in face masks and observing social distance guidelines as the coronavirus pandemic dramatically altered the sacred Easter season for a second straight year. In places with ongoing concerns about the spread of the virus,...

The Latest: Lockdown extended for metro Manila, surroundings
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government extended a lockdown by another week Monday after an alarming spike in coronavirus infections continued to surge and started to overwhelm many hospitals in the capital and outlying regions. President Rodrigo Duterte placed...

Hymns through masks: Christians mark another pandemic Easter
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Christianity’s most joyous feast day was celebrated worldwide with the faithful spaced apart in pews and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings on a second Easter Sunday marked by pandemic precautions. From vast Roman Catholic...

In Easter speech, pope calls wars in pandemic 'scandalous'
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis in his traditional Easter Sunday address denounced as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continue to rage even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering and swollen the ranks of the poor. Francis...

Pope urges hope amid 'darkness' of pandemic in Easter vigil
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis urged his coronavirus-weary flock to not lose hope even through the continued “dark months” of the pandemic as he celebrated a scaled-back Easter vigil service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday. Due to social-distancing norms, only about...
