Catholic Church
Designing churches is a calling for some architects
By Nidhi Upadhyaya — November 17, 2021
(RNS) — Building churches is a small niche in architecture, and few designers have chosen to dedicate their lives to the practice.
In Catholic Italy, ‘de-baptism’ is gaining popularity
By Sara Badilini — November 16, 2021
(RNS) — Though data is sparse, the church and Italian atheists agree that the 2-decade-old process is becoming more common.
Amid Black exodus, young Catholics are pushing the church to address racism
By Alejandra Molina — November 15, 2021
(RNS) — For many Black Catholics, there's a fundamental belief that you cannot be a Christian and a racist. 'We have a duty to preach the gospel to our white brothers and sisters,' said Byron Wratee.
Pope offers hope to poor in visit to namesake’s Assisi home
By Nicole Winfield and Alessandra Tarantino — November 12, 2021
In one of his first outings in Italy since the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis took his time greeting some of the 500 people brought by Catholic charity groups to Assisi to join Francis in marking the Catholic Church's world day of the poor.
Afghan crisis and pandemic make for another somber Día de los Muertos
By Alejandra Molina — October 29, 2021
(RNS) — With the ongoing pandemic, Día de los Muertos events, although not as restricted as in 2020, will continue to look a little different this year.
What’s a ‘miracle’? Here’s how the Catholic Church decides
By Dorian Llywelyn — October 28, 2021
(The Conversation) — To qualify as a Catholic ‘saint,’ someone must have two miracles credited to them. But how does the church define a miracle in the first place?
What is the Synod of Bishops? A Catholic priest and theologian explains
By William Clark — October 13, 2021
(The Conversation) — Pope Francis formally opened a two-year process called a “synod on synodality” for the Catholic Church on Oct. 10.
The Catholic Church sex abuse crisis: 4 essential reads
By Molly Jackson — October 7, 2021
(The Conversation) — A French report on the scale of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy is the latest revelation in the crisis, but its roots go back decades – or more. Here are a few of our many related articles.
Florida death row chaplain given Guardian of Life Award from Pontifical Academy
By Jessica Mundie — September 30, 2021
(RNS) — For more than two decades, Dale Recinella had been offering pastoral care and religious education to inmates in solitary confinement at Florida State Prison, which houses the second-largest death row population in the United States.
On day of remembrance, churches confront their role in Indigenous boarding schools
By Emily McFarlan Miller — September 30, 2021
CHICAGO (RNS) — Several US mainline denominations — including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church — encouraged their members to observe a day of remembrance for US Indian boarding schools on Sept. 30.
San Marino legalizes abortion; Pope, women’s groups disagree
By Francesco Fedeli and Nicole Winfield — September 27, 2021
SAN MARINO (AP) — Pope Francis repeated Monday that abortion is “murder,” a day after the tiny republic of San Marino became the latest Catholic state to legalize the procedure, much to the cheers of women’s rights groups. An overwhelming majority — 77% of the 14,384 votes cast Sunday in the microstate surrounded by Italy […]
Blocked from serving their church, Catholic women push for female deacons
By Yonat Shimron — September 14, 2021
(RNS) — There is growing momentum to restore women to the diaconate, which would allow women to serve as Catholic chaplains in prisons, hospitals and other settings.
Amid a boom of plus-sized churches, one Catholic church wants to keep it small
By Yonat Shimron — August 26, 2021
CARY, N.C. (RNS) — The explosive growth of Catholicism in the Diocese of Raleigh has led to building massive churches. One church has been fighting to keep things small.
RNS News Quiz: Ben & Jerry’s and Wally Funk
By Emily Churchill — July 23, 2021
(RNS) — Test your knowledge of the week's current events in the world of religion.
US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools
By Peter Smith — July 23, 2021
(AP) — The discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada have prompted calls for a reckoning over similar schools in the United States.