Religion

The Associated Press reports: A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States. The agreement between the Diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts …

The Dallas Morning News reports: A 32-year-old youth pastor was arrested on charges related to the sexual assault of a child, Mesquite police said Monday. Conner “Jesse” Penny, a Mesquite resident, was arrested April 5 after police received a report the day before regarding the sexual assault of a child. He faces one count each of continuous sexual abuse of …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis opened Holy Week Sunday with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people.” Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass before crowds in St. Peter’s Square for the first time since the pandemic, Pope Francis …

Reuters reports: The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church called on people on Sunday to rally around the authorities as Moscow pursues its military intervention in Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill has previously made statements defending Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and views the war as a bulwark against a Western liberal culture that he considers decadent. “Let the Lord help us unite during …

The Christian Post reports: There has been an “unprecedented drop” in the number of Bible users in the United States since last year, according to a report released by the American Bible Society. The American Bible Society defines Bible users as “those who use the Bible at least 3-4 times each year on their own, outside of a church setting.” …

The Daily Mail reports: A family of four are dead and a teenage boy is fighting for life in hospital after appearing to jump from their apartment building in the Swiss resort of Montreux on Lake Geneva, police said. The French family were found at the bottom of a seven storey building in Montreux on Thursday and are believed to …

The Christian Post reports: A new report released Thursday by the American Enterprise Institute shows that despite the proven benefits of belonging to a faith community, Americans are increasingly leaving organized religion with each subsequent generation and the majority aren’t coming back. Generation Z, born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is now the least religious generation yet, with …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis released his long-awaited reform program of the Holy See bureaucracy on Saturday that envisages greater decision-making roles for the laity and gives new institutional weight to efforts to fight clerical sex abuse. The document was released Saturday, the ninth anniversary of Francis’ installation as pope and the feast of St. Joseph, an important figure …

The Christian Post reports: Founders of the 12,000-member Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, Stovall Weems and his wife, Kerri, have filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction that would force the megachurch to recognize Weems as their chief executive officer and settle dueling claims of financial fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Celebration Church filed a motion to dismiss Weems’ …

The National Catholic Register reports: Cardinal George Pell has called on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to publicly reprimand two of Europe’s most senior bishops for what he said was their “wholesale and explicit rejection” of the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics. In a statement released March 15, Cardinal Pell asked the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation to …

First Coast News reports: Worship services were interrupted by a police raid Wednesday night at the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ on Old Kings Road. The raid was the result of a long-term investigation that started with a tip regarding possible sexual abuse in 2020. The investigation uncovered sexual and physical abuse of minors in the church that …

The Vermont Digger reports: The Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese has removed a Windsor County pastor who fought calls by the state’s largest religious denomination for Covid-19 vaccinations, masks and other pandemic precautions. Rev. Peter Williams is no longer head of Holy Family Parish of Springfield and neighboring Chester, Bishop Christopher Coyne informed church members in a public letter this week. …

The Christian Post reports: Bruxy Cavey, the primary teaching pastor of one of Canada’s largest megachurches, The Meeting House, has resigned after an independent investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct commissioned by the church last December concluded that he abused his power. “The investigator determined that Bruxy had maintained a sexual relationship with the victim, an adult woman, in violation …

The Associated Press reports: A prominent Roman Catholic archbishop who faced strong criticism for his handling of the church’s sexual abuse scandal in Germany said Wednesday that he has offered his resignation to Pope Francis following a “spiritual timeout” granted by the pontiff. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne, marked his return to work with a lengthy letter …

The Christian Post reports: Fewer than half of American adults, including non-Christians, see pastors as “very reliable” when it comes to handling spiritual matters, and the share of pastors who believe the general public sees them that way is even lower, according to newly published data from Barna Research. When that data is further broken down, however, only 23% of …

The New York Times reports: Having an abortion is no longer a crime under Colombian law, the country’s top court on constitutional matters ruled on Monday, in a decision that paves the way for the procedure to become widely available across this historically conservative, Catholic country. The ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court follows years of organizing by women across Latin …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge sentenced an 80-year-old nun to a year in prison after she confessed to stealing more than $800,000 from the elementary school where she worked as principal to, among other things, fund her gambling trips to Las Vegas. Mary Margaret Kreuper must also pay $825,338 in restitution, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s …

The Associated Press reports: Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness Tuesday for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but admitted to no personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich, Germany. “I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater …

The New York Daily News reports: A Queens priest has been stripped of his clerical collar after a Catholic Church review board substantiated claims of misconduct, officials said Monday. Not only was the Rev. John O’Connor forced to step down as pastor of St. Gregory the Great in Bellerose, he was completely removed from the ministry upon the recommendation of …

The Christian Post reports: Chick-fil-A, the largest fast-food restaurant chain in the United States, will soon open its second location in Marshall, Texas, where the franchise owners’ buried an open Bible in the building’s foundation as a reflection of their faith in God. The franchisees, David and Holley Snow, owners of the first Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Marshall that will open …