Religion

Euronews reports: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne will take a “spiritual time-out” from his duties after committing grave errors in a crisis over clerical sexual abuse, but will retain his post, the Vatican said on Friday. Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki, 65, had faced criticism for his handling of allegations of past child sex abuse, in particular for shelving a …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis urged European bishops on Saturday to listen to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and consider them partners in reform, warning that their failure to do so risks the very future of the Catholic Church. Francis issued a video message to Central and Eastern European bishops who are gathering in Poland starting on Sunday for …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Wednesday he didn’t understand why people refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines, saying “humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines,” and that serene discussion about the shots was necessary to help them. Francis noted that children for decades have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and polio “and no one said anything.” “Even in …

The Associated Press reports: A Catholic priest that led parishes in Massachusetts has been found guilty of sexually abusing a child in the 1960s by a church panel and barred from public ministry, the Archdiocese of Boston said Friday. Paul J. McLaughlin, a former pastor of St. Peter Parish in Lowell and Immaculate Conception Parish in Marlboro, will not be …

The BBC reports: When Spanish bishop Xavier Novell resigned last month, the Roman Catholic Church cited strictly personal reasons without going into detail. It has now emerged in Spanish media that he fell in love with a woman who writes Satanic-tinged erotic fiction. In 2010 at the age of 41, he became Spain’s youngest bishop, in Solsona in the north-eastern …

NPR reports: Pope Francis is encouraging countries to welcome Afghan refugees who are seeking a new life. During his appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Francis also prayed that displaced persons inside Afghanistan receive assistance and protection. “In these tumultuous moments, in which Afghans are seeking refuge, I pray for the most vulnerable among them, I …

Religion News Service reports: A group of Orthodox rabbis in New York and Baltimore has released a series of direct and passionate black-and-white public service announcements encouraging Jews to get vaccinated for COVID-19. “We in the community have to realize that if 99% of doctors say to take the shot, you take the shot. What are we, playing games?” says …

The Associated Press reports: Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the once-powerful American prelate who was expelled from the priesthood for sexual abuse, pleaded not guilty Friday to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts nearly 50 years ago. McCarrick, 91, wore a mask and entered suburban Boston’s Dedham District Court hunched over a walker. “Shame …

The New York Daily News reports: A Brooklyn preacher’s blessing is a pox upon his flock. The Rev. Kevin McCall is vowing to give COVID inoculation exemptions to members of his church trying to avoid vaccine mandates — and is even offering the letters as an enticement so people will join. McCall told the Daily News on Friday that about …

The Christian Post reports: Nearly two weeks after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, a beloved Kentucky pastor has died from the virus despite desperate prayers from his congregation asking the Lord to restore him “back to his normal self.” Center Point Church in Lexington announced the passing Thursday of Senior Pastor Tim Parsons in a statement posted on Facebook. Parsons’ …

The Christian Post reports: A former Texas pastor has been sentenced to 30 years of federal prison after he pleaded guilty to using hidden cameras to record sexually explicit material of underage children at church and other locations. David Pettigrew, ex-pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Denison, Texas, was sentenced to 360 months in prison by U.S. District …

The Chattanoogan reports: Jimmy DeYoung Sr. passed away early Sunday morning, according to his wife Judy. Dr. DeYoung had been admitted to Memorial Hospital on Aug. 7. His wife had requested prayer for her husband a short time after he was diagnosed with COVID. He had preached at the Church of the Highlands in Harrison on Aug. 1. That was …

The federal government’s recent report on UFO sightings by military pilots has spawned some reflection at the Christian Post. An excerpt: It seems that while I don’t take the idea of aliens seriously, plenty of other people do. Further, Christians are now revisiting discussions about the theological implications of extraterrestrial life. For example, if they exist, what impact does that …

Religion News Service reports: A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez, 37, is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8, but his attorneys said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Corpus …

The Associated Press release: For two years, New York temporarily set aside its usual time limit on civil lawsuits in order to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue churches, hospitals, schools, camps, scout groups and other institutions and people they hold responsible for enabling pedophiles or turning a blind eye to wrongdoing. That window closes Saturday, after more …

The Associated Press reports: Facebook already asks for your thoughts. Now it wants your prayers. The social media giant has rolled out a new prayer request feature, a tool embraced by some religious leaders as a cutting-edge way to engage the faithful online. Others are eyeing it warily as they weigh its usefulness against the privacy and security concerns they …

Jacksonville’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Jacksonville church pastor said in the last 10 days, six of his church members have died from COVID-19, and more of their members are currently in the hospital. Now the church is pushing to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Senior Pastor George Davis at Impact Church in Arlington told News4Jax on Friday …

Tulsa’s ABC News affiliate reports: The Rev. Wade Morris, 51, an evangelist who spoke across the country, died Tuesday morning after contracting COVID-19. He was a guest speaker at Falls Creek Youth Camp last month. Morris spoke at the Christian summer camp near Davis, Oklahoma during the week of July 5, according to Brian Hobbs, Communications Director of Oklahoma Baptists, …

The Christian Post reports: The leadership of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has issued a memorandum saying that priests cannot grant religious exemptions to getting the COVID-19 vaccine. In a memorandum, Archdiocese Chancellor John P. Cahill informed all clergy and staff that there was “no basis for a priest to issue a religious exemption to the vaccine.” “Pope …

The Albany Times-Union reports: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany engaged in a decades-long cover-up of chronic child sexual abuse committed by its priests by employing practices described in a recent statement from former Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, who ran the diocese from 1977 to 2014. Hubbard’s statement, issued through his attorney in response to a series of questions from …