Religion

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 …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said on Wednesday that parents of gay children should not condemn them but offer them support. He spoke in unscripted comments at his weekly audience in reference to difficulties that parents can face in raising offspring. Those issues included “parents who see different sexual orientations in their children and how to handle this, how to accompany …

The BBC reports: Former Pope Benedict XVI failed to act over four child abuse cases when he was archbishop of Munich, a German probe into the Catholic Church has alleged. Pope Benedict, then called Josef Ratzinger, held the position from 1977 to 1982. He has denied the accusations. But a new report into historical abuse allegations carried out by a …

ABC News reports: A Catholic diocese in Poland apologized today for having asked a court to determine whether a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest is gay, and whether the sexual contact may have consequently been pleasurable for him. Following wide criticism, the Bielsko-Zywiec diocese said that its letter to the court should not have …

Notes From Poland reports: A Catholic curia in Poland has asked for a court to determine the sexuality of the victim of a priest and whether he took “pleasure in the intimate relationship”. The victim says he was 12 years old when the abuse began. Last year, Janusz Szymik – pictured above as a child – launched a civil case …

Religion News Service reports: The Vatican has tightened its COVID-19 regulations by requiring the use of FFP2 masks (similar to N95 masks) inside and making vaccinations and booster shots mandatory for employees and visitors wishing to enter the Vatican Museums and gardens. In an attached document, the Vatican also issued fines for people who do not respect the new regulations. …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Pope Francis on Monday warned that antivaccine misinformation was undermining recovery from the pandemic and denounced a “cancel culture” intolerant of traditional values that he said was impeding cooperation among the world’s societies. The pope’s remarks came in his annual speech to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, in which he typically highlights urgent international …