Catholic Church

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Amy Barrett&#39;s in a &#39;Charismatic&#39; Catholic Group &mdash;But Is It a Cult?
Amy Barrett
Is in a Group
That 'Speaks
in Tongues'
the rundown
Sep 27, 2020 3:00 PM CDT

Amy Barrett Is in a Group That 'Speaks in Tongues'

The media spotlight falls on a 'charismatic community' called People of Praise

(Newser) - President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court belongs to a tightly knit Catholic group called People of Praise—but what exactly is it? The media spotlight is falling on Amy Coney Barrett's "charismatic community" and reviving questions about its spiritual advisers, communal living spaces, and alleged connection...

He Wrote Famous Hymns, Is Accused of Sex Misconduct

Claims against David Haas, 63, date back 4 decades

(Newser) - "There’s practically not a hymnal in existence that doesn’t include Haas songs," a Catholic theologian says of songs by composer David Haas. But the New York Times reports 10 of the 32 Roman Catholic archdioceses in the US have instructed their churches to no longer play...

Vatican Changes Policy on Wedding Rites

Lay catholics will be allowed to perform them, but they'll need special permission

(Newser) - The Vatican said on Monday that in exceptional circumstances, lay Catholics can be allowed to perform marriage rites, per the AP . In a document issued by the Holy See office for clergy, the Vatican said that could only happen if there are no priests or deacons available, the nation’s...

US Catholic Church Gets 'Unprecedented' Exemption for Virus Aid

Normally not eligible for taxpayer-backed SBA funds, churches reap billions of dollars from PPP

(Newser) - The US Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups. The church's haul...

Teen Likely to Be First Millennial Saint

Italian teen is one step closer to sainthood

(Newser) - The Catholic Church is one step closer to having its first millennial saint, NBC News reports. A miracle has now been attributed to Carlo Acutis, a London-born Italian teen who died in 2006 at age 15 from leukemia. Carlo taught himself how to program on his family's old computer,...

Mel Gibson&#39;s Father Set Up His Own Church
Mel Gibson's Dad Denied
'Most' of the Holocaust
obituary
Jun 6, 2020 2:00 PM CDT

Mel Gibson's Dad Denied 'Most' of the Holocaust

Hutton Gibson has died at 101

(Newser) - Mel Gibson's father—once known for his anti-Semitism and rather eccentric Catholic views—died May 11 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., the New York Times reports. His death went unreported at the time, even by family; only California records revealed his passing. But Hutton Gibson, who lived to 101, did...

Benedict Suggests New Title for John Paul II

Only two predecessors have been given the title 'the Great'

(Newser) - Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is floating the idea that St. John Paul II have another title added to his name—"the Great." Only two other popes have received the honorific. John Paul's longtime secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, held a press conference in Krakow, Poland, on Friday to...

Pope Assembles Experts to Weigh Idea of Women Deacons

A 2016 commission couldn't come to a consensus

(Newser) - The Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Francis has created a new commission of experts to examine whether women can be deacons, an ordained role in the Catholic Church currently reserved for men. The 10-member commission, the second of Francis' pontificate to study the fraught issue, includes equal numbers of men...

Bishops Just Gave Catholics a Big Lenten Dispensation

Some dioceses are letting followers eat meat on Fridays (but not Good Friday) due to coronavirus

(Newser) - Catholics who don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent, as well as give up other things during the 40 or so days of the religious observance before Easter, probably didn't anticipate this year also sacrificing hanging out with friends, heading out to restaurants and bars, and attending most...

France's Worst Case of Clergy Abuse Is Over

Ex-priest who abused at least 75 boys is sentenced to 5 years

(Newser) - A French ex-priest who acknowledged sexually abusing at least 75 boys over decades was sentenced Monday to five years in prison, in France’s worst case of clergy abuse to reach trial. The court in Lyon issued the verdict against 74-year-old Bernard Preynat behind closed doors because the coronavirus outbreak...

Parents: Our Autistic Son 'Is Being Shunned' by Church

NJ couple says 8-year-old was turned down for first Holy Communion because he's nonverbal

(Newser) - A New Jersey couple is railing against their church for a "disgraceful and disheartening" act against their 8-year-old son, which they say is due to his disability. Per NBC News , Anthony LaCugna is autistic and nonverbal, and because of that, his parents say, Saint Aloysius Church in Jackson refused...

'Living Saint' Is Accused of Sexually Abusing 6 Women

Jean Vanier died last year at age 90

(Newser) - A respected Catholic figure who worked to improve conditions for the developmentally disabled for more than half a century sexually abused at least six women during most of that period, according to a report released Saturday by the France-based charity he founded. The report produced for L'Arche International said...

Pope Turns Palace Into Homeless Shelter

Vatican-owned building is now a 'palace for the poor'

(Newser) - Pope Francis is practicing what he preaches in Rome, where a 19th-century palace owned by the Vatican has been turned into a homeless shelter. The pontiff rejected plans to convert the Palazza Migliori, which is just off St. Peter's Square, into a luxury hotel for Vatican visitors, reports the...

Cardinal Caught in Celibacy Storm Denounces 'Brutality'

(Newser) - A Vatican cardinal at the center of a storm over a book about celibacy and the Catholic priesthood is denouncing the "brutality" of criticism directed at him and his collaborator, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, the AP reports. In an interview published Saturday, Cardinal Robert Sarah doubled down on his...

Hoping for a Pope Fight? One Just Took a Step Back

Benedict has name removed as co-author from controversial pro-priesthood celibacy book

(Newser) - If you were hoping that there'd be a bona fide public bickering between Pope Francis and his predecessor, you may have to tamp down your expectations. The current pope has reportedly been mulling whether to allow married men to become priests in some cases, and news broke this week...

Benedict Breaks His Silence as Pope Emeritus

Makes it clear he doesn't like the idea of lifting celibacy rules, now under consideration

(Newser) - A retired 92-year-old man has broken his silence to insist that his former colleagues should never have sex. Pope Benedict XVI, who adopted the title "pope emeritus" after retiring in 2013, argues that priestly celibacy is essential in a new book, "From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood,...

AP Has Big Issues With Church Sex-Offender List

Over 900 accused clergy members are missing

(Newser) - Richard J. Poster served time for possessing child pornography, violated his probation by having contact with children, admitted masturbating near a church school, and in 2005 was put on a sex offender registry. And yet the former Catholic priest was only just this month added to a list of clergy...

Crop-Duster Sprays Water on Locals —But Not Just Any Water

"We can bless more area in a shorter amount of time," says Rev. Matthew Barzare

(Newser) - That wasn't rain falling in rural Louisiana on Saturday—it was holy water, sprayed by a crop-duster plane. "We can bless more area in a shorter amount of time," says Rev. Matthew Barzare of St. Anne Church in Cow Island, La. He apparently blessed 100 gallons of...

Vatican Sends Fraction of Donations to Poor

Most contributions to Peter's Pence go to cover the Vatican's budget deficit

(Newser) - As little as 10% of the millions raised each year by the Catholic Church to help the poor and suffering reaches the needy, with the vast majority of the donations going to solve the Vatican's financial problems. Peter's Pence, the pope's principal charitable appeal, raises more than...

Buffalo's Bishop Steps Down Amid Scandal

Richard Malone was under fire for handling of sex abuse complaints

(Newser) - The bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Buffalo has resigned following widespread criticism over how he handled allegations of clergy sexual misconduct, reports the AP . Pope Francis on Wednesday accepted Bishop Richard Malone's resignation and named the bishop of Albany, New York, Edward Scharfenberger, to run the Buffalo...

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