Catholicism
Unusual secrecy attends Biden’s first meeting with Pope Francis as president
By Jack Jenkins and Claire Giangravé — October 28, 2021
(RNS) — The unusually veiled meeting is stoking speculation about whether the two will discuss the incendiary debates going on among the U.S. bishops over the second Catholic U.S. president's abortion stance.
California bishops should ask, ‘What would Junipero Serra do?’
By Thomas Reese — October 28, 2021
(RNS) — Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest canonized by Pope Francis in 2015, has become the center of a firestorm in California where he was a Spanish missionary for 15 years beginning in 1768.
What will President Biden and Pope Francis talk about?
By Thomas Reese — October 27, 2021
(RNS) — This will not be a pastoral meeting between the pope and one of the Catholic faithful. This is a meeting between the president of the United States and an influential world leader.
Vatican census shows Catholicism growing everywhere but Europe
By Claire Giangravé — October 21, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — As Catholicism grows in Africa and America, Europe sees its faithful diminish, a Vatican survey finds.
Francis emphasizes social justice in papal Tweetstorm
By Thomas Reese — October 18, 2021
(RNS) — Pope Francis has turned Twitter into a prophetic medium. It is his way of getting the Gospel message out to the world.
Archbishop of the military defends those who refuse vaccines
By Jack Jenkins — October 13, 2021
(RNS) — More than 90% of active-duty Navy personnel and more than 81% of Army and Air Force personnel have already gotten the shots.
Europe court rejects case seeking to blame Vatican for abuse
By Nicole Winfield — October 12, 2021
ROME (AP) — A European court agreed Tuesday that the Vatican couldn’t be sued in a local court for sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests, affirming that it enjoys sovereign immunity and that the misconduct of priests and their superiors can’t be attributed to the Holy See. The European Court of Human Rights dismissed a […]
Where Serra statues once stood, a chance to honor California’s Indigenous people
By Alejandra Molina — October 1, 2021
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — A year after protesters across California toppled monuments to Serra, Indigenous leaders, artists and others are seeking to activate those sites in a way that would memorialize the state’s Indigenous people.
Five rules for disagreeing with the pope
By Thomas Reese — September 27, 2021
(RNS) — We are all cafeteria Catholics. The real question is how we avoid a food fight in the cafeteria.
Catholic orphanage’s ex-residents ask church to fund therapy
By Wilson Ring — September 17, 2021
Former residents continue to recover from what they described as abuse at the hands of the nuns and priests.
Pope calls on world to welcome refugees and immigrants
By Thomas Reese — September 14, 2021
(RNS) — During his visit to Hungary and Slovakia, Pope Francis was at his prophetic best, standing up for refugees who have been bloodied by war, starved by famine and displaced by persecution.
Largest Catholic parish in US being built in ‘heart of California’s dairy industry’
By Alejandra Molina — September 14, 2021
VISALIA, Calif. (RNS) — ‘It’s the best-kept secret in the nation — little Visalia building the largest parish church in modern U.S. history,’ said the Rev. Alex Chavez.
Bishop Spong: Theology without limit or bound
By John C. Dorhauer — September 14, 2021
(RNS) — Here was a bishop putting into words answers to the questions I had asked all my life.
Six suggestions for the Catholic bishops’ document on the Eucharist
By Thomas Reese — September 7, 2021
(RNS) — The U.S. bishops’ document on the Eucharist could be helpful — if they do it right.
Priests navigate Catholics’ fears and consciences in vaccine exemption pleas
By Alejandra Molina — August 19, 2021
(RNS) — It’s unclear how many Catholics are seeking vaccine religious exemptions, but more and more of their bishops are urging their priests to decline such requests.
