Latest Roman Catholicism News

Pope's top adviser, women who say they were abused by ex-Jesuit artist ask for mosaics to be removed

Jun. 28, 2024 15:39 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — The scandal over a famous ex-Jesuit artist who is accused of psychologically, spiritually and sexually abusing adult women came to a head Friday after some of his alleged victims and the pope’s own anti-abuse adviser asked for his artworks not to be promoted or displayed. ...

Another 400,000 people left Germany's Catholic Church last year, but the pace slowed from 2022

Jun. 27, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) — Another 400,000 people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, though the number was down from a record set in 2022 as church leaders struggle to put a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy behind them and tackle calls for reform, official figures showed...

On heartland roads, and a riverboat, devout Catholics press on with two-month nationwide pilgrimage

Jun. 25, 2024 08:05 AM EDT

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — “Bye bye, Jesus!” a child called out as the riverboat chugged away from shore into the Ohio River, a solemn bell tolling amid the thrumming of an old-fashioned sternwheel. Two Catholic bishops on board, representing dioceses on each side of the river,...

US Catholic bishops approve outreach to Native Americans and acknowledge boarding school 'traumas'

Jun. 14, 2024 10:45 AM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — U.S. bishops on Friday approved new guidelines for ministering to Indigenous Catholics, a long in-the-works effort to reinvigorate the ministry and assure those communities that they don't need to feel torn between their Native identity and their Catholic one. ...

Pope apologizes after being quoted using vulgar term about gay men in talk about ban on gay priests

May. 28, 2024 14:24 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar and derogatory term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests. The ruckus that ensued underscored how the church’s official teaching about homosexuality often bumps...

A look at Pope Francis' comments about LGBTQ+ people

May. 28, 2024 12:40 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' apology Tuesday for using a vulgar term to refer to gay men was the latest comment to make headlines about the Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality. Francis has made a hallmark of reaching out to LGBTQ+ Catholics, but his 11-year...

Pope Francis apologizes after he was quoted using a vulgar term to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests

May. 28, 2024 09:12 AM EDT
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis apologizes after he was quoted using a vulgar term to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.

Florida priest accused of biting woman who grabbed Holy Communion wafers during Mass

May. 24, 2024 19:10 PM EDT

ST. CLOUD, Fla. (AP) — The Diocese of Orlando is defending a Catholic priest accused of biting a woman who tried to grab Holy Communion wafers during Mass at a central Florida church. The confrontation occurred Sunday afternoon at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St. Cloud....

Baltimore's Catholic archdiocese will cut parishes as attendance falls and infrastructure ages

May. 23, 2024 14:39 PM EDT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore's Catholic archdiocese, the nation's oldest, will cut the number of parishes in the city and nearby suburbs by about two-thirds as part of a realignment plan responding to falling attendance and aging infrastructure. Under the final plan released...

Catholic diocesan hermit approved by Kentucky bishop comes out as transgender

May. 21, 2024 14:51 PM EDT

(RNS) — Diocesan hermits by nature don’t get much attention. A small subset of religious persons, hermits mostly spend their lives engaged in quiet prayer. Brother Christian Matson, a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky, has spent years doing just that. His monk’s habit might...