Roman Catholicism
John of God’s sexual assault arrest tarnishes Brazil’s spiritist movement
By Eduardo Campos Lima — January 30, 2019
SAO PAOLO, Brazil (RNS) — More than 600 women — varying in age from 8 to 67 — have accused the medium of sexual assault, adding a distressing chapter to the long history of spiritist mediums in Brazil.
A grand bargain to save the planet and call truce in the abortion war
By Charles C. Camosy — January 25, 2019
(RNS) — Do Democratic reformers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez really believe in an existential threat from climate change or is a 10-week limit on abortion the real end of the world for them?
Women strive for larger roles in male-dominated religions
By David Crary — January 15, 2019
(AP) — In just over a year, the #MeToo movement has toppled powerful men around the world. Yet in most of the world's major religions, women are still relegated to second-tier status.
Bruce Springsteen’s run for home
By John Fea — January 9, 2019
(RNS) — With a surprising resort to prayer, the Boss acknowledges that his relentless quest for the American dream can't be separated from tradition, roots, place, a longing for home, and faith.
Faced with resurgent abuse crisis, Catholic prelates answer with more meetings
By David Clohessy — January 3, 2019
(RNS) — To those of us who’ve closely followed the Catholic Church’s distressing self-inflicted scandal for decades, the current flurry of meetings without action is depressingly familiar.
Crystal Cathedral, home to the ‘Hour of Power,’ transforms into Catholic seat
By Heather Adams — November 28, 2018
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (RNS) — The restoration of the former home of televangelist Robert Schuller as the seat of the Roman Catholic bishop of Orange will accommodate California's latest religious boom.
Shrine to Vietnamese Lady of La Vang rises in Southern California
By Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil — November 16, 2018
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (RNS) — The new statue will commemorate the Marian apparition at La Vang in the late 1700s, a centerpiece of Vietnamese Catholic faith.
At Vatican summit, millennial Catholics have no vote but do have a voice
By David Gibson — October 26, 2018
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — To change the narrative of scandal, the millennials say, the bishops must keep the conversation going, not just with young Catholics but with those alienated from religion as well.
Why suing Notre Dame over ‘secret’ birth control settlement isn’t kosher
By Charles C. Camosy — October 17, 2018
(RNS) — If the lawsuit were over abortion, rather than simple contraceptives, would students and critics of the university's policy take the same line?
‘Acknowledging reality,’ a splinter church in Kenya ordains married Catholic priests
By Tonny Onyulo — October 16, 2018
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Attracted by the prospect of serving God while raising a family, Catholic priests have left the mainstream faith for the Renewed Universal Catholic Church.
Coptic abbot’s murder points to strains over ecumenism in Egypt
By Mina Nader — September 7, 2018
(RNS) — Egypt's Coptic Orthodox community is reeling from the murder of the abbot of St. Macarius Monastery, apparently by traditionalists of his own faith, in a fourth-century center of meditation and scholarship near Cairo.
Nebraska Catholic diocese rocked by old abuse allegations
By Grant Schulte — September 2, 2018
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Critics say the Diocese of Lincoln is now paying the price for its unwillingness to participate in key reforms enacted in the wake of the 2002 Boston clergy abuse scandal.
Why it’s so hard to hold priests accountable for sex abuse
By Carolyn M. Warner — August 27, 2018
(The Conversation) — Pope Francis has expressed sympathy with the victims of clergy sex abuse, but an important reason for crisis is the church’s Code of Canon law, which the pope alone can change.
Pope Francis changes catechism to declare death penalty ‘inadmissible’
By Jack Jenkins — August 2, 2018
(RNS) — A vocal opponent of the death penalty, Francis also ordered a change to say the church will work 'with determination for its abolition worldwide.'
Fifty years later, scientist’s finding on birth control still challenges Catholic teaching
By Frank Maurovich — July 24, 2018
(RNS) — Many Catholic theologians warn that preserving an unscientific stance on birth control will weaken the Catholic Church's credibility on all sexual issues, not just birth control.