Catholic Church

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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...

Pope to Change Church Teaching: Nukes Are 'Immoral'

Francis warns that an 'accident of possession' or 'insanity of a leader can destroy humanity'

(Newser) - Pope Francis is planning to change official Catholic Church teaching to declare the use and possession of atomic weapons as "immoral," a move that makes clear that his rejection of the Cold War-era doctrine of deterrence is to be official church policy. Francis had declared the possession of...

Pope Francis: Let's 'Leave Comfortable Shores'

The pope answers bold call from bishops in the Amazon region

(Newser) - On the heels of a bold call by Amazon region bishops for married men to become priests, Pope Francis is urging openness to new ways, and in a possible slap at conservative critics who fear he is weakening the Catholic church's foundations, he cautions faithful against entering the "...

Catholic Bishops Call for Married Men to Be Ordained

Bishops from the Amazon also want to revive debate over women becoming deacons

(Newser) - Catholic bishops from across the Amazon called Saturday for the ordination of married men as priests to address the clergy shortage in the region, an historic proposal that would upend centuries of Roman Catholic tradition, the AP reports. The majority of 180 bishops from nine Amazonian countries also called for...

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