Tag Archives: Catholic Church

NBC News reports: Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in an important new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks. The new church law provides whistle-blower protections for anyone making a …

The Guardian reports: A woman has been arrested on suspicion of offending religious sentiment, after posters bearing an image of the Virgin Mary with her halo painted in the colours of the rainbow flag appeared in the city of Płock in central Poland. The Polish interior minister, Joachim Brudziński, announced on Twitter on Monday that a person had been arrested …

NBC News reports: The Archdiocese of New York on Friday named 120 Catholic clergy that it said had been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse or being in possession of pornography. About half of the men on the list were born in the first half of the 20th century and are now dead. The rest have either been removed from ministry …

The Associated Press reports: The percentage of U.S. adults who belong to a church or other religious institution has plunged by 20 percentage points over the past two decades, hitting a low of 50% last year, according to a new Gallup poll. Among major demographic groups, the biggest drops were recorded among Democrats and Hispanics. Gallup said church membership was …

The New York Daily News reports: Former Pope Benedict XVI blamed the widespread clerical abuse on the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the “collapse” of theological and societal moral teachings — contradicting Pope Francis in his most extended statement since resigning more than six years ago. “Why did pedophilia reach such proportions?” he writes. “Ultimately, the reason is the …

The Washington Blade reports: A group of more than 50 LGBTI rights advocates on Friday met with a high-ranking Vatican official and renewed their calls for the Catholic Church to condemn laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. ILGA World in a press release said the activists met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and presented him …

The Washington Post reports: A priest in northern Poland who led a public burning of books that included titles from the “Harry Potter” series and other items parishioners wanted destroyed has apologized, saying the ritual was not intended to condemn specific authors, religions or social groups. The Rev. Rafal Jarosiewicz called the burning of objects thought to be connected to …

The Guardian reports: Catholic priests in Poland have burned books that they say promote sorcery, including JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, in a ceremony they photographed and posted on Facebook. Three priests in the northern city of Koszalin were pictured carrying the books in a large basket from inside a church to a stone area outside. The books were set …

NPR reports: Pope Francis issued a new decree making it mandatory for Vatican City officials or its diplomats around the globe to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse to authorities or face possible jail time. The edict, called a Motu Proprio and which goes into effect on June 1, comes after an international summit of church leaders convened at the …

The Detroit Free Press reports: Michigan will no longer financially support adoption and foster care agencies that refuse to work with same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals because of religious beliefs under the terms of a settlement of a lawsuit negotiated by Attorney General Dana Nessel. The settlement, which was announced Friday, sets up a battle with the Republican-led Legislature, which …

Religion News Service reports: According to newly released General Social Survey data analyzed by Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University, Americans claiming “no religion” — sometimes referred to as “nones” because of how they answer the question “what is your religious tradition?” — now represent about 23.1 percent of the population, up from 21.6 percent in 2016. People claiming …

WHSV-TV reports: On Tuesday, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey [photo] filed a lawsuit alleging the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese and former Bishop Michael J. Bransfield knowingly employed pedophiles. The suit also alleges they failed to conduct adequate background checks for those working at the diocese’s schools and camps. The Wheeling-Charleston Diocese encompasses the entire state of West Virginia. The complaint alleges …

Just out from Gallup Polling: As the Catholic church responds to more allegations of sexual abuse of young people by priests, an increasing percentage of Catholics are re-examining their commitment to the religion. Thirty-seven percent of U.S. Catholics, up from 22% in 2002, say news of the abuse has led them to question whether they would remain in the church. …

NBC News reports: The most senior Catholic cleric ever to be convicted of child sex abuse was sentenced to six years in prison in Australia on Wednesday morning. Cardinal George Pell, 77, faced as many as 50 years in prison after being convicted in December for the molestation of two choir boys while he was the archbishop of Melbourne in …

Via press release: The Diocese of Brooklyn is demanding an immediate public apology from “Saturday Night Live” and NBC after Saturday night’s disgraceful and offensive skit in which cast member Pete Davidson, during the Weekend Update segment, said: “If you support the Catholic Church, isn’t that the same thing as being an R. Kelly fan?” The statement clearly shocked the …

The Kansas City Star reports: A Prairie Village Roman Catholic grade school this year denied enrollment to a kindergartner who is the child of a same-sex couple. Now almost 1,000 people have signed a petition asking church leaders to reconsider. The petition over St. Ann Catholic School on Mission Road is addressed to Archbishop Joseph Naumann [photo] and school Superintendent …

France 24 reports: The archbishop of Lyon, the most senior French Catholic cleric caught up in the paedophilia scandals that have rocked the church, was convicted of helping covering up abuse and handed a six-month suspended jail term on Thursday. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was found guilty of failing to report the abuse of a minor between 2014 and 2015. His …

The Guardian reports: George Pell is arguing his child sexual abuse convictions should be overturned or he should receive a retrial, because of a “fundamental irregularity” that prevented him from entering a not-guilty plea in front of his jury. The Victorian court of appeal has released Pell’s grounds for appeal against his December conviction for sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys …

CNN reports: One of the most powerful men in the Roman Catholic Church was found guilty of multiple historical child sex offenses at a secret trial in Melbourne in December, the existence of which can only now be revealed. Australian Cardinal George Pell, 77, is almost certain to face prison after a jury found him guilty of one charge of …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Pope Francis closed an unprecedented Vatican summit on clerical sex abuse by promising to protect children and help victims of what he called a plague of clerical sex abuse, but he offered few policy specifics. The pope, in his widely awaited closing speech on Sunday, said the church’s response should avoid “defensiveness that fails to …