Tag Archives: Catholic Church

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis was sitting upright and receiving therapy for double pneumonia Wednesday, the Vatican said, as Argentines, Romans and others kept up the steady stream of prayers for his recovery. Francis remained in critical condition but the Holy See machinery ground on, with the announcement of new bishops and a new church fundraising initiative. The Vatican …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis, in critical condition battling double pneumonia, had a “tranquil” night, was alert and had rested after a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said on Sunday. “The night was tranquil, the pope rested,” the Vatican said in a one-sentence update on Sunday without providing further information. The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. Francis, who has been hospitalized for a week with a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update. …

The Catholic News Agency reports:  The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is suing the Trump administration over what the bishops say is an unlawful suspension of funding for refugee programs in the United States. Upon taking office last month, President Donald Trump issued sweeping executive orders that, among other measures, directed a freeze on foreign assistance funds and grants, …

The New York Times reports: Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs and will not participate in activities through the weekend because of his health issues, the Vatican announced on Tuesday. Francis, who was admitted to a hospital in Rome on Friday, had initially been diagnosed with a polymicrobial infection, which means he has a mix of microbes, like …

The Associated Press reports: The Vatican on Tuesday canceled papal audiences through the weekend and delegated others to cover for Pope Francis as the 88-year-old pope remained hospitalized with a multi-pronged respiratory infection. Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. On Monday, medical personnel determined that he …

Memphis’s CBS affiliate reports: An Arkansas priest who was arrested and charged with abusing cats has been suspended by his diocese. Charles Thessing, 63, priest at St. Michael Church in West Memphis, was charged Tuesday with two counts of aggravated animal cruelty. He is accused of trapping and drowning cats. Late Wednesday, the Diocese of Little Rock sent out a …

Memphis’s CBS affiliate reports: A priest at a church in West Memphis, Arkansas has been arrested in connection with a case involving two cats who police say appeared to have been drowned, city officials said Tuesday. Charles Thessing, 63, is listed in the Crittenden County jail log, charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. On Feb. 7, West …

The National Catholic Reporter reports: Pope Francis has written a sweeping letter to the U.S. bishops decrying the “major crisis” triggered by President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans and explicitly rejecting Vice President JD Vance’s attempts to use Catholic theology to justify the administration’s immigration crackdown. “The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land …

The Associated Press reports: As New Orleans church leaders braced for the fallout from publishing a list of predatory Catholic priests, they turned to an unlikely ally: the front office of the city’s NFL franchise. What followed was a months-long, crisis-communications blitz orchestrated by the New Orleans Saints’ president and other top team officials, according to hundreds of internal emails …

The CBC reports: A former Catholic priest convicted of sexually abusing children in Nunavut has been sentenced to six years in prison. Eric Dejaeger, 77, pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexually abusing children in Igloolik between 1978 and 1982. The children Dejaeger abused, who are now middle-aged, were between the ages of four and nine. Justice Faiyaz Alibhai read …

The Canadian Press reports: A Catholic priest’s sex assaults on Inuit children decades ago in Igloolik, Nvt., transformed a once friendly and trusting hamlet into a place marred by anger and addiction, court heard Thursday. Wails and shouts could be heard in the Iqaluit courtroom where Eric Dejaeger pleaded guilty to indecent assaults against six girls and one boy between …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming U.S. president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling him “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Francis made the comments during an appearance at an evening talk show, …

The Christian Post reports: Public trust in pastors has dropped to a new low, according to the latest Gallup poll. The survey finds that only 30% of Americans rate clergy as highly honest and ethical, continuing a downward trend. Gallup’s findings, released last week, place clergy in 10th position among the 23 professions measured. Clergy were ranked below auto mechanics …

The Guardian reports: Pope Francis has said he inherited a “large white box” full of documents related to various scandals faced by the Catholic church when he took over from his predecessor. The pontiff makes the revelation in his much-anticipated autobiography, Spera (Hope), which is published on Tuesday. Francis became pope in 2013 after the shock resignation of Benedict XVI, …

The Ventura County Star reports: A former Oxnard priest was sentenced Thursday to a year in jail in connection with sex offenses against two youths in Los Angeles County but avoided state prison, officials said. Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara pleaded no contest to sodomy with a person under age 16 and a lewd act with a child age 14 or 15, according …

The New York Times reports: The Vatican has approved new guidelines for Italy that say that an applicant for the seminary cannot be rejected simply because he is gay, as long as he remains celibate. The guidelines say that seminary directors should consider sexual orientation as only one aspect of a candidate’s personality. They do not change the Roman Catholic …

The Washington Post reports: The Vatican named one of the United States’ leading liberal Catholic prelates Monday to run the prominent D.C.-area archdiocese, sending to the nation’s capital, as a second Trump administration begins, a cleric known for a pastoral approach to migrants and for the “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community. San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy, who for a …

New Orleans’ NBC affiliate reports: A former New Orleans priest who pleaded guilty to rape and kidnapping has died at 93, according to his attorney, Bobby Hjortsberg. Lawrence Hecker was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, Dec. 18, after pleading guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape, and theft. He died at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center on …

Reuters reports: A Catholic Holy Year, also known as a Jubilee, is considered a time of peace, forgiveness and pardon. They normally occur every 25 years. Pilgrims coming to Rome during the year can obtain special indulgences, or remission of their sins. This Jubilee will run through Jan. 6, 2026. “The Jubilee calls us to spiritual renewal and commits us …