Catholic World News

The editorial offices of Catholic World News are closed today, June 2, for Ascension Thursday. Barring unexpected news developments, CWN will not be posting headline stories on Thursday. We will...

On June 4, Pope Benedict will begin a two-day journey to Croatia, his nineteenth apostolic journey outside Italy. Blessed John Paul visited the nation three times following its 1991...

Stating that “the coming five years will be among the most critical in the history of recent Irish Catholicism,” Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin called for the speedy release of the results of...

At their June 15-17 meeting in Seattle, the bishops of the United States will discuss a statement on assisted suicide. “After years of relative inaction following legalization of...

The bishops of Peru have issued a statement ahead of the June 5 presidential runoff between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori. Supporters of legalized abortion and same-sex marriage have backed...

Human rights activists and members of religious minorities in Pakistan, including Catholics, are lamenting the murder of Asia Times reporter Syed Saleem Shazad. “We cannot keep silent about the...

Deacon Bernard Nojadera, a psychiatric social worker and therapist who has led the Diocese of San Jose’s child protection office since 2002, has been named head of the United States Conference of...

Pope Benedict XVI met privately with US Vice President Joseph Biden at the Vatican on June 3. The meeting had not been announced in advance, and neither the Vatican nor the American government...

Pope Benedict XVI met on June 3 with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. During their discussion the Pontiff underlined the need for a just and lasting solution to the...

The Hong Kong-born secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Evangelization is urging Chinese bishops to resist pressure to participate in illicit episcopal ordinations. Divisions within the...

Italian banking officials have released the €23 million ($33 million) in funds from the Vatican bank that were frozen last September in connection with a probe into money-laundering...

Last week a regional official of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that St. Xavier University in Chicago must allow adjunct professors to form a union. The ruling marked the second...

“In order to destroy Qaddafi, NATO is killing dozens of innocent people,” charges Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, the apostolic vicar of Tripoli, Libya. “Bombs are becoming our Calvary,” says Bishop...

Seven Catholics priests have been elected to Vietnam’s national assembly and provincial councils, according to official results of the voting conducted on May 22. At least 20 priests won election to...

Cardinal Raymond Burke, the head of the Apostolic Signatura, has withdrawn from a scheduled speaking appearance in London, citing the controversy raised by the sponsoring organization and its...

In Israel, the media have taken notice of the appointment of an Israeli-born priest, a convert from Judaism, to the top appeals court at the Vatican. Father David Maria Jaeger, a native of Tel...

Maronite Catholic Patriarch Beshara Rai has brought together lay Catholic leaders from the country’s contending political factions to discuss the Christian presence in Lebanon. The talks, held at...

Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice is the leading candidate to be named the new Archbishop of Milan, according to Vatican-watcher Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa--who has established an enviable record...

The Archdiocese of Boston is weighing plans to ease “a spiral of financial distress” by group its 291 parishes into clusters, sharing priests and resources, AP reports. Citing an internal...

Commenting on the Angican ordinariates, Father Dwight Longenecker remarks that many conservative Anglicans are not ready to enter the Catholic Church, because their outlook is distinctly Protestant....

"In my house growing up,” says the newly appointed editor of the New York Times, “the Times substituted for religion. If the Times said it, it was the absolute truth.” James Taranto of the Wall...

The heads of confederations of men and women religious are praising Archbishop João Bráz de Aviz, the new prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic...

Every year 105,000 Christians are killed because of their faith. This shocking figure was disclosed by Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne, representative of the OSCE (Organization for...

A bishop in the Central African Republic was kidnapped by rebel forces on June 2 and soon released. Bishop Edouard Mathos was abducted as he traveled to a village to administer the Sacrament of...

The parliament of Nepal, a Hindu monarchy until 2006, is considering a measure that would ban evangelization and conversion from one religion to another. “The article prohibits any act which may...

The apostolic vicar of Tripoli is warning that the partition of Libya would “create breeding ground for terrorist acts.” Following extensive damage to a Coptic Orthodox church during a NATO...

An auxiliary bishop of Jerusalem told Vatican Radio that he fears that a regime change in Syria could create a climate in which the nation’s 1.5 million Christians face active persecution. “The...

A panel of a federal appeals court has ruled that New York City may prevent religious organizations from holding worship services in public school buildings. The ruling overturned a federal district...

In a conversation with reporters who accompanied him on a June 4 flight to Croatia, Pope Benedict XVI said that Croatia’s entry into the European Union should help to reinforce the sense of Europe’s...

During a weekend visit to Croatia on June 4-5, Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly emphasized the Christian roots of European civilization, suggesting that Croatian entry into the European Union might help...

“In today’s society, the presence of exemplary Christian families is more necessary and urgent than ever,” said Pope Benedict XVI, as he celebrated Mass for well over 300,000 people at a racetrack...

An apostolic visitation of the four archdioceses of Ireland has been concluded, the Vatican announced on June 6. However, further probes will be made of some Irish religious orders. The apostolic...

During his weekend visit to Croatia, Pope Benedict XVI mounted a strong defense of the memory of Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, the wartime Archbishop of Zagreb who has been the object of a bitter...

Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit has cautioned the clergy of his archdiocese against participation in a conference organized by dissident Catholics. In a June 3 letter to priests and deacons...

The Catholic bishops of Mexico have rejected calls for the legalization of marijuana. “The fight against drugs must be a global effort, not a unilateral action,” said Archbishop Carlos Aguiar...

On Pentecost Sunday more than 50 former Anglican clerics will be ordained as Catholic priests for the English ordinariate of Our Lady of Walshingham. Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark will...

Three Philadelphia priests and a lay Catholic schoolteacher have rejected a plea-bargaining deal that would have had them serve at least 7 years in prison on child-molestation charges. The four have...

The UN Committee Against Torture has called for an investigation of abuses in Ireland’s Church-administered Magdalene Laundries, and said that victims of the institutions should receive...

The director of the Vatican press office has called attention to the forthcoming independence of southern Sudan, and the threats already facing the new nation. In a weekly editorial, Father...

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd proclaims Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin as the sole hero of Ireland’s sex-abuse scandal, in a column scattered with errors of fault and logic. Dowd...

In a new book, an Italian author has made the claim that the Shroud of Turin was fabricated by Giotto in 1315. Luciano Buso says that a careful examination of the Shroud shows “a number of...

Bishops across the Philippines are denouncing a measure that would legalize divorce. “Being a country where divorce is not legal is an honor that every Filipino should be proud of,” said...

Nearly three centuries after Pope Benedict XIII introduced his beatification cause, Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza (1600-59), who briefly governed Mexico during the colonial era, was beatified on...

Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the recommendations of a new report on the commercialization and sexualization of childhood. “I particularly welcome those recommendations to make public...

The Jinnah Institute, a Pakistani public-policy think tank chaired by a Muslim, has issued a report documenting and denouncing the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the...

The apostolic vicar of Tripoli has condemned the desecration of an Italian cemetery by Libyans angered by NATO airstrikes. Libya was an Italian colony from 1912 to 1947. “We must make it clear...

Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City - St. Joseph has renewed his apology for the manner in which he handled allegations involving Father Shawn Ratigan, who has pled not guilty to child pornography...

In an essay that appeared in the June 6-7 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the director of the Madrid-based Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos reflected upon the challenges facing Catholic publishers...

Three Catholic dioceses in Illinois have filed suit to block enforcement of a new law that would require adoption agencies to give equal treatment to homosexual couples. The dioceses of Peoria,...

Chinese officials have postponed plans to ordain a new bishop without Vatican approval. The ordination of Father Shen Guoan as Bishop of Hankou had been scheduled for Friday, June 10. Chinese...

A Scottish archbishop has told his priests that there is “no requirement or indeed encouragement for any of us to promote the so-called extraordinary form” of the Mass—despite the clear Vatican call...

Governor Rick Perry of Texas has issued a call for prayer and fasting for the welfare of the US, and encouraged his fellow governors to join him in a day of prayer on August 6. Two governors—Sam...

Citing the nation’s blasphemy laws, a Pakistani political party leader has called upon the nation’s supreme court to ban the Bible on the grounds that “pornographic” passages have been inserted into...

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, who conducted the apostolic visitation of the Archdiocese of Armagh in Ireland, says that “sincere repentance” and transparency are necessary for the renewal and...

Andrew Scheer, a 32-year-old Catholic and father of four from Saskatchewan, has been elected the youngest speaker in the history of Canada’s Parliament. Described by a Canadian pro-life newspaper...

Relying on decades-old audio from Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano has published the unedited version of a 1974 speech given by Pope Paul VI in Aquino, the birthplace of St. Thomas Aquinas. A...

The Brazilian bishops’ Commission for the Pastoral Care of Charity, Justice and Peace has condemned the murder of José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife. The activist, who opposed illegal...

The Archdiocese of Boston has opened the canonization cause of Father Joseph Muzquiz (1912-83), a Spanish-born priest of Opus Dei who ministered in Chicago, Washington, and Boston. A civil engineer...

An Australian newspaper has published a profile of Father Vincent Long Van Nguyen, a Conventual Franciscan friar who will be ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne on June 23. The priest, who was 13...

Following his usual pattern after a foreign trip, Pope Benedict XVI devoted his weekly public audience on June 8 to reflections on his visit to Croatia the previous weekend. Breaking from his...

A lesbian comic claims that she was blocked from an appearance at a Toronto Catholic high school when Church leaders learned about her same-sex marriage. Dawn Whitwell had been considered as a...

The Vatican newspaper has published an account of the troubled diplomatic relationship between the Holy See and the Spanish Republic in the 1930s, based on documents from the Vatican...

The Vatican has indicated that girls should not serve at the altar when Mass is celebrated in the extraordinary form. In response to queries on the subject, the Ecclesia Dei commission explained...

A long-awaited report on sexual abuse in Ireland’s Cloyne diocese may not be made public until the nation’s High Court resolves arguments about material that should be withheld, justice minister...

Pakistan’s National Commission for Justice and Peace is investigating the case of a Christian girl who was reportedly kidnapped and forced into an Islamic marriage. “On the case of Farah Hatim,...

At GetReligion, journalist Terry Mattingly critiques a Baltimore Sun report on two Maryland women who claim to have been ordained as Catholic priests. As is so often the case, Mattingly observes,...

A Chicago hedge-fund executive has resigned from the board of directors of the University of Notre Dame, after a controversy erupted over her donations to a pro-abortion group. Roxanne Martino,...

The cathedral in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri was heavily damaged in a June 7 bombing. “St. Patrick’s Cathedral was seriously damaged, windows and doors [were] destroyed, the whole...

The officers of Venezuela’s episcopal conference have issued a statement expressing their “shock and firm repudiation” of recent attacks on sacred images. “These attacks are added to other...

Fordham University theologian Sister Elizabeth Johnson has written a 38-page letter defending her 2007 book Quest for the Living God against a recent critique by the Committee on Doctrine of the...

92% of Americans believe in God, according to a new Gallup survey--down from 98% in 1967. When asked whether they believe in God or a “universal spirit,” 80% of Americans say they believe in God,...

Pro-lifers in the United Kingdom are making greater use of “US tactics” such as prayer vigils, according to a recent article in The Guardian. Msgr. Philip Reilly of the Helpers of God’s Precious...

Caritas Internationalis, the confederation of Catholic relief and development agencies, has announced a new program to assist those made homeless by the March 11 earthquake. “Life is not easy...

The apostolic vicar of Tripoli has modified an earlier statement on the desecration of an Italian cemetery. On June 6, Bishop Giovanni Martinelli had told the Fides news agency that “I called the...

The leading Catholic prelate in Libya has denied rumors that he has given refuge to the country’s embattled leader, Muammar Qaddafi, in his offices. Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, the apostolic...

Pope Benedict XVI delivered a strong message of support for environmentalism on June 9, in a meeting with six new ambassadors to the Holy See: from Belize, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Moldova, New...

Detroit’s leading newspapers has called attention to conferences organized by two competing Catholic groups, to be held in the metropolitan area this weekend, offering dramatically different visions...

A Muslim woman has filed a religious-discrimination lawsuit against the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, claiming that she was dismissed from her job at the diocese because of her...

A Catholic priest in Chicago has been charged with helping an imprisoned mob leader conduct business from behind bars. A federal indictment charges that Father Eugene Klein, a prison minister,...

In a perceptive account of the Vatican’s effort to assert control over the activities of the Catholic charitable consortium Caritas International, John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter makes...

Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, India, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for reconciliation among different religious and ethnic groups in northeast...

Authorities in Vietnam are pressing criminal charges against Peter Pham Minh Hoang, a Catholic university professor, charging that he has sought to overthrow the government. Hoang, who has been...

The city council in Moscow has ordered an Orthodox parish to close down a soup kitchen that feeds dozens of homeless people. The city council said that the soup kitchen harms the image of the...

Pope Benedict XVI has called for “real reforms” to resolve the political crisis in Syria, urging negotiations that would take “a deliberately comprehensive approach” and include all the “legitimate...

Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez of Guadalajara has condemned the swift approval of a constitutional amendment that bans discrimination on the basis of “sexual preference.” “By protecting sexual...

Catholics in northern Laos are suffering from an increasingly intense persecution, according to UCA News. Local officials in the Communist nation are requiring some Catholics to miss Mass and...

A year after his appointment as the first bishop of the overwhelmingly Muslim Comoros--which consists of three islands between mainland Africa and Madagascar--Bishop Mahuza Yava told Aid to the...

A Jesuit parish in Charlotte has canceled plans to read the Qur’an from the pulpit on June 26, the feast of Corpus Christi. “Just having something public is not going to be a big, big deal here,...

The deputy assistant secretary of the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor said he was “delighted to be able to wish everyone a Happy Pride” on behalf of Secretary of...

A new UN report calls for the adoption of comprehensive sexuality education beginning at age 10 in order to combat the spread of AIDS, according to the Catholic Family & Human Rights. “It is time...

Catholic Relief Services is hosting a live online chat with a Southern Sudanese bishop on June 15. When Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, 47, was an infant, troops from the north killed his...

During a June 10 visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy—the institution that trains young clerics for the Vatican diplomatic service—Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that every Vatican diplomat...

The Vatican is preparing to launch a newly designed web site, with a cleaner and more attractive graphic presentation. Although the new site is not yet active--so that links do not work--the new...

With a sharp attack on the British government’s welfare policies, the Archbishop of Canterbury has thrust the Church of England into a heated political debate, and exposed differences between the...

A dispute between President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines and Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblo of Butuan turned ugly when a spokesman for the president compared the bishop’s criticism with Nazi...

Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City has appointed a former federal prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation into sex-abuse complaints in his diocese. Bishop Finn announced the...

French lawmakers have rejected a bid to allow embryonic stem-cell research, in a vote that the Vatican newspaper characterized as a “positive turnaround.” Rejecting the recommendations of a...

The Congregation for Bishops has voted to recommend the appointment of Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice as the next Archbishop of Milan, according to two noted Italian journalists specializing in...

Pope Benedict XVI has established a Chaldean Catholic eparchy in Canada, and appointed Archbishop Hanna Zora as its first bishop. The establishment of a new ecclesiastical jurisdiction reflects...

China’s plans to ordain a new bishop without permission from the Holy See were thwarted by the concerted opposition of the Catholic laity, and the resistance of the priest who was chosen for...

Pope Benedict XVI will hold a special audience with over 2,000 European Gypsies on June 11. Pope Benedict will hear testimony from leaders of four different Gypsy communities, and deliver his own...

Several unrelated, but interesting, observations today: The Archbishop of Canterbury has sparked an interesting debate in England, with a statement on political affairs a statement on political...

Describing the “persistent violence and apparent lack of solutions” in Syria as “especially worrisome,” the director of the Holy See Press Office called for “dialogue, reconciliation, and peace” in...

A bishop in the Central African Republic has called upon the international community to provide the “necessary logistical and material support to the fight against the growing insecurity in the...

Speaking on behalf of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban called for prayers for “meaningful change” in Swaziland. “Swaziland is a country in...

The representative of the Holy See at UN offices in Geneva offered praise for a draft document that would establish a procedure under which child victims of child trafficking, pornography, or...

Pakistani Catholic sources have told the Fides news agency that a 24-year-old Christian woman who was kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and forced to marry a Muslim may soon be sold...

Eritreans who have fled one of the world’s most repressive regimes are facing unimaginable suffering once they arrive in Egypt, where an estimated 200 have fallen into the hands of human...

Caritas International, the confederation of Catholic relief and development agencies, has announced that it will provide aid to 100,000 people in South Sudan over the next year. Two million lost...

Pope Benedict XVI held a special meeting on June 13, with the leaders of the Roman Curia. The Vatican did not disclose the purpose of the Monday-morning meeting. Pope Benedict has only rarely...

A Brazilian priest who was named an auxiliary bishop has declined the appointment in order to care for his mother. On May 4, Pope Benedict XVI named Father José Aparecido Hergesse to be an...

Pope Benedict XVI met on June 11 with 2,000 Gypsies, and told them—using the words of Pope Paul VI—“You are in the heart of the Church." The Gypsies, coming from many different European...

Pentecost marks the “baptism of the Church,” Pope Benedict XVI told a midday audience on the feast day, June 12. At Pentecost, the Pope said, God gave the Church his law of love, “writing by...

Father Alois Andritzki, a German priest who died at Dachau, was beatified on June 13. Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided at the Monday...

A Benedictine priest faces possible disciplinary action after he presided at a Mass celebrated for a conference of Catholic dissidents in Detroit, defying a warning by Archbishop Allen...

A papal visit to Ireland in 2012 now seems likely, according to press reports in that country. Ranking Vatican officials were reportedly in Dublin last week. Their presence was taken as an...

A vial of blood taken from Blessed John Paul II has been placed in the altar of a church in Krakow, Poland, where the late Pontiff once served as archbishop. Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the...

The new English-language translation of the Roman Missal has been introduced in Australia, drawing a strong positive response. “People are quietly appreciative,” said Cardinal George Pell of...

John Garvey, the president of Catholic University of America, explained in a Wall Street Journal column that the school will house all incoming freshmen in same-sex dorms. He points to studies...

The Boston archdiocese has forced an urban parish to cancel plans for a special Mass celebrating Gay Pride Month. But the pastor earned applause from his congregation with Sunday sermons welcoming...

Wall Street Journal columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady writes that when Cuban dissidents were freed from prison and allowed to travel to Spain, their departure represented a propaganda victory for the...

Chinese prelates who were ordained without Vatican approval, or participated in such illicit ordinations, should make a public display of their repentance, the Vatican has said. A new document...

A Pakistani bishop has pledged that the Church will do “everything possible” to secure the release of Farah Hatim, a 24-year-old woman who has been kidnapped, forced to marry, and forced to convert...

The greed of local Communist officials is a major contributing factor to the persecution of the Church in Vietnam, according to the director of AsiaNews. “In some ways there is more freedom, but...

Two teenagers broke into a chapel in the Diocese of Pereira on the evening of June 5-6, stealing $1,000 worth of valuables and desecrating the Blessed Sacrament. The incident took place in...

El Salvador’s leading prelate has called upon those in public office to enforce the nation’s child labor laws. An estimated 10% of the nation’s children currently work in jobs intended for adults....

Writing in the June 13-14 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Augusto Pessina praised the recent French ban on embryonic stem cell research and criticized the outlandish claims of some embryonic...

For the fourth consecutive year, membership in the Southern Baptist Convention--the United States’ largest Protestant denomination--declined in 2010. The number of Southern Baptists now stands at...

A relic of St. Anthony of Padua has been stolen from St. Anthony’s Parish in Long Beach, California. The relic, which was last venerated publicly eight years ago, was scheduled to be venerated...

At a special June 13 meeting convened by Pope Benedict XVI, the leaders of the Roman Curia discussed several concerns about religious life, according to the leading Vatican journalist, Andrea...

Writing for Forbes, Doug Bandow provides a rundown of the nations regarded by the US State Department as the most flagrant violators of religious freedom. With one exception—Burma—the worst...

“The Church—each one of us—must bring the world the good news that Jesus is Lord,” Pope Benedict XVI told a congregation at the Roman basilica of St. John Lateran on June 13. “This announcement must...

The Vatican has announced the winners of the first “Ratzinger Prizes,” given to scholars for outstanding work in promoting the truths of Christianity in the context of contemporary culture. The...

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York has staked out his opposition to an effort to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, describing the legislative proposal as “a rush to tamper with a definition...

The bodies of nine aborted babies, all girls, were discovered in a drain in India’s western Maharashtra state, in one of regions where sex-selection abortion is most commonplace. The fetal...

The Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, has abandoned a plan to continue providing financial benefits to 6 priests who were removed from ministry because of abuse charges. The Wilmington diocese,...

Echoing the comments of some Sudanese Christians, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury warned that attacks by the northern Sudanese military on disputed border regions presage a humanitarian...

One year after the murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese, Turkish Christians are welcoming the election of a Christian lawyer to parliament as a sign of hope of greater tolerance in the largely Muslim...

The revised Hungarian constitution, which will take effect on January 1, declares that human life will be protected from the moment of conception. “Human dignity is inviolable,” the constitution...

Panama’s leading prelate has denounced government corruption in the Central American nation. “There was, there is and there will be corruption as long as accomplices exist, and we are all...

Although Christians form only 8% of Sri Lanka’s population, the Church can play a crucial role in promoting unity in a nation ravaged by civil war, according to Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith...

Offering an overview of the Vatican’s liturgical music manuscripts, the director of the Vatican Library and Secret Archives paid tribute of the Church’s heritage of sacred music. “In virtue of...

The House of Representatives may soon consider a measure that makes permanent a 2004 amendment banning the patenting of human beings. The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, which works...

The Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, has announced plans to post a full list of priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse, on a revamped diocesan web site. The public listing--which is...

At his regular public audience on June 15, Pope Benedict XVI reminded the faithful that the month of June is traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As he concluded his weekly...

Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, has asked the state’s Supreme Court to reconsider a diocesan appeal of sex-abuse case—an appeal that the court has already declined. The renewed...

A former Anglican bishop who resigned under pressure has been received into the Catholic Church. Ross Davies had been the Anglican bishop of Murray, Australia, until September 2010. He resigned...

At this week’s Seattle meeting, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) are not expected to make any significant changes in their policies for handling sex-abuse complaints, despite a recent...

The Vatican is planning a major international conference on sex-abuse policy, designed to help “bishops and religious superiors adequately respond to requests to bishops’ conferences made by the...

Pope Benedict XVI offered a reflection on the encounter between the prophet Elijah and the priests of Baal, during his general audience on June 15. The Holy Father reminded the crowd in St....

Negotiators for the Holy See and Israel reported “very significant progress” in their latest talks about a juridical agreement to establish the legal rights of the Church in the Holy Land. The...

A Spanish diocese has suspended a priest who campaigned successfully for a seat on the city council, disregarding the canonical rule that bars priests from engaging in partisan political activity or...

A Syrian Catholic bishop has spoken out strongly in favor of the Assad regime, saying that the government must act decisively to curb a rebellion that could lead to the “destabilization and...

The late Father Charles Murphy was gravely scarred by a false accusation of sexual abuse, writes Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory. Father Murphy was cleared of the charge after an investigation,...

Remember Matthew Fox? In the 1980s he came to prominence as a Dominican priest, preaching a form of eco-mysticism that was more attractive to New Agers than to the Vatican. At his Institute for...

The Benedictine priest who defied Archbishop Allen Vigneron to celebrate Mass at the American Catholic Council meeting in Detroit continued his criticism of the Catholic hierarchy in a conversation...

Two hundred churches have been attacked in Indonesia since 2006, according to a report submitted to Aid to the Church in Need. Fourteen churches have been attacked in the first five months of...

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s representative to UN institutions in Geneva, has called upon the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights to launch a “formal investigation” into the case of...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants campaign is urging Catholics to oppose the expansion of E-Verify in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform. E-Verify...

Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant, is leading a prayer vigil on the evening of June 16 in memory of migrants...

Internet users around the world are less likely to search for the word “Catholic” today than they were in 2004, according to an analysis of Google data conducted by the Center for Applied Research...

Officials of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences are meeting in Vilnius from June 16 to June 21 to discuss aspects of the new evangelization. The meeting’s agenda includes “the...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage has released “Made for Life,” a video in defense of marriage as the union of a man and a...

Sixteen of the 64 priests who minister in the Diocese of Victoria (Texas) are from Ghana. Ghanaian Archbishop Matthias Nketsiah told the southeastern Texas diocese’s newspaper that he is happy to...

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has voted to renew the sex-abuse policies established in 2002, with only minor modifications. By an overwhelming vote of 187- 5, the American bishops...

At their meeting this week in Bellevue, Washington, the US bishops heard a report from Cardinal Donald Wuerl about the development of an American ordinariate for Anglicans who wish to enter the...

A “hookup culture” of casual encounters has “become the dominant script for sexual and romantic relationships on Catholic and secular campuses,” according to a new study from the Cardinal Newman...

As his first official initiative, Milan’s new secularist leader, Mayor Giuliano Pisapia, has announced that he will support the Gay Pride parade in the Italian city on June 25. Pisapia’s...

The Pontifical Council for Culture is organizing a conference on adult stem-cell research. The conference, to be held in November, will be organized in collaboration with an American firm,...

Speaking at the United Nations, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Permanent Observer of the Holy See, offered a strongly worded reaction to the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS adopted by the UN...

Speaking at a Vatican conference on Pope Benedict’s social encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone challenged business leaders to seek “a goal greater than profit while not...

By a vote of 191-1, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved “To Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide” at its June meeting in Seattle. (The bishops'...

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s representative at UN offices in Geneva, welcomed the International Labor Organization’s approval of the International Convention for Domestic Workers’...

Pakistani police have arrested a man suspected of being involved in the March 2 assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Catholic cabinet minister slain for his opposition to the nation’s blasphemy...

Police in Long Beach, California, have arrested Maria Solis, 41, in conjunction with the theft of a relic of St. Anthony of Padua from a parish on June 13. The relic was discovered undamaged in her...

Speaking on June 17 to a group of bishops from India who were completing their ad limina visits, Pope Benedict XVI concentrated on the role of the bishop as a focus of unity in his...

The Italian chapter of the Knights Templar is seeking a Vatican apology for he suppression of the order in the 14th century and the execution of its leader, Jacque de Molay. Although it was King...

The Vatican will host the works by 60 artists this summer, in an exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict’s ordination to the priesthood. The exhibit—which will include...

Cardinal George Pell said that bishops must show courage in proclaiming unpopular truths, as he ordained a new auxiliary for his Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia. Cardinal Pell reminded the new...

A Vatican-appointed investigator has concluded an apostolic visitation of Regnum Christi, the lay movement affiliated with the Legion of Christ. Archbishop Ricardo Blazquez of Valladolid, Spain,...

Doctrinal discussions between the Vatican and the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X have concluded, and participants in the talks have been unusually reticent about the next steps in the effort...

Both the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals of Christchurch, New Zealand, may face demolition after sustaining new damage in an earthquake on June 13. The quake compounded structural damage that was...

Government officials in Ontario have spent nearly $1 million investigating a Toronto Catholic school board, and recovered only $29,000 in improper spending, according to a member of the embattled...

The number of weddings celebrated in American Catholic churches has dropped by 60% in the past generation, at a time when the overall Catholic population was growing by almost 17 million. A study...

The revelations about abuse that occurred in Ireland's Magdalene Laundry system have given rise to several myths about the institutions, notes David Quinn in a column for the Independent....

Pro-life groups in Britain have sharply criticized BBC for a documentary on assisted suicide, charging that the program was in effect a propaganda piece for euthanasia. Care Not Killing, a group...

King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced a series of proposed constitutional reforms on June 17 that will be voted upon in a July 1 referendum. The new constitution “supports the human rights in all...

Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja has denounced the June 16 car bombing that took place at the nation’s police headquarters. The Islamist group Boko Haram, which bombed a cathedral in northern...

In his weekly editorial, the director of the Holy See Press Office recalled that June 29 is the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict’s priestly ordination and drew attention to the Congregation for the...

Acceding to the requests of several bishops, the Committee on Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced that bishops are permitted to introduce the musical...

The Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has expressed confidence in the work of Development and Peace, the official international development organization of the Church...

Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette has issued a 19-page pastoral letter to the permanent diaconate, focusing on its history and spirituality. Citing the Latin text of the General Instruction...

Organizers of a June 19 prayer service for gay, lesbian, and transgendered persons at St. Cecilia Parish in Boston have announced that a Mass in commemoration of gay pride month, canceled at the...

During a one-day visit to the tiny Republic of San Marino, Pope Benedict XVI saluted the Christian heritage of European culture, pleaded for help in building strong families, and urged young people...

On the World Day for Refugees, June 20, the president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants lamented a “hardening attitude of countries so that it seems that refugees are the problem, and not the...

At an international conference on sexual abuse, scheduled to take place at the Gregorian University in February, the Vatican will also launch an internet cite providing educational resources on the...

After President John Garvey of the Catholic University of America announced plans to make all student residences single-sex dorms, a law professor at nearby George Washington University said that he...

Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia, argues that the Catholic Church must lead the public fight against acceptance of euthanasia, recognizing that many young people “are moral relativists at...

A Catholic priest who faces criminal charges in Minnesota because of a sexual relationship with a woman he was counseling is challenging the constitutionality of the law under which he was...

Plans to build a new Catholic hospital in Maryland have encountered opposition from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, whose representatives note that the proposed Holy Cross...

Mercedes-Benz is making a new "Popemobile" that will rely on an electric motor to transport the Pontiff around Rome, in another step toward green technology at the Vatican. The new vehicle will...

The stunning announcement by John Corapi that he is leaving the Catholic priesthood has raised a series of questions about the man who had earned national attention as a preacher. Corapi, who had...

An Ethiopian-born Marine reservist was arrested near the Pentagon, carrying a notebook with references to Al Qaida and chemicals used in home-made explosives. Newspapers generally reported the...

New York Times columnist used a great deal of sarcasm, but very little logic, in an attack on Archbishop Timothy Dolan, observes canon lawyer Edward Peters. In a post that thoroughly dismantles...

As southern Sudan prepares for independence, Bishop Macram Max Gassis of El Obeid warns that new fighting is likely on the border that will separate the north from the newly autonomous...

In a critique of the new design for the Vatican web site, Matthew Warner of the National Catholic Register finds that the new look ignores many accepted principles and conventions for internet...

The post-Mubarak Egyptian government is considering a proposal to relax restrictions on the building of churches. Currently, only the president may approve the construction of a church; under the...

Sister Marguerite Rutan, a nun who refused to renounce her faith during the Reign of Terror and suffered martyrdom by the guillotine, was beatified in Dax, France, on June 19 before a crowd of...

Christians took to the streets of Attock--a city of 260,000 in Punjab province in northern Pakistan--to call for a more serious police investigation into the May 14 kidnapping of Robin Javed, an...

L’Osservatore Romano has published an interview with the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications following a May meeting with bloggers at the Vatican. “The Church has...

The lay faithful “must know that they can turn to the nuncio when there are issues that have repercussions in the pastoral ministry of bishops,” according to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the...

The executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services is urging lawmakers to the support the Refugee Protection Act, which was recently...

The continued NATO bombing campaign in Libya is playing into the hands of Muammar Qaddafi, alienating civilians and pushing them to support the regime, according to the apostolic vicar of...

Officials at St. John Lateran are loaning iPods to pilgrims, in an effort to cut down on the noise in the Roman basilica. The iPods, which are loaded with information about the history and...

Pope Benedict XVI will travel to Ancona, Italy, to preside at the closing of Italy’s Eucharistic Congress in September. The Holy Father will travel to Ancona on September 11, to preside at a Mass...

An independent commission in the Netherlands has recommended that the Catholic hierarchy pay compensation of up to €100,000 apiece to sex-abuse victims. The commission, which was asked by the...

While the US Catholic bishops have taken a firm stand against legal acceptance of euthanasia, their efforts are being undercut by the work of professors at many Catholic universities, notes Patrick...

The head of the Vatican bank sees a bleak economic future for the world’s industrialized countries, unless they can reverse a decline in productivity. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, writing in...

The sculptor who created a controversial statue of Blessed John Paul II, now on display outside Rome's central train station, still believes that his work will eventually be recognized as a...

An identity card issued by the Venice city council to Cardinal Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I, has been sold on Ebay for €5,200 (almost $7,500). The identity card, which lists the...

The Catholic bishops of Venezuela resisted entreaties from Pope John Paul II to steer clear of efforts to oust the country's strongman, Hugo Chavez, in 2002, according to confidential documents from...

Ireland’s largest teachers’ union has called for government policies that would restrict the religious character of denominational schools. The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO)...

Pope Benedict XVI is gaining greater recognition as "the green Pope," notes Nick Squires of the London Daily Telegraph. Along with his frequent public statements in favor of protecting the...

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a pro-British paramilitary group, has been blamed by police for a new spate of violence in Northern Ireland. The violence that erupted in Belfast on June 20,...

A California firm has generated considerable publicity for its new product, a cologne, “made expressly for His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his ordination...

Pope Benedict XVI referred to the Psalms as the “prayer book par excellence,” as he spoke at his weekly general audience on June 22. The 150 Psalms “express all human experience,” the Pope told...

A small group of Spanish priests is criticizing the organizers of a papal visit for recruiting corporate sponsors. The Priests of Madrid Forum has written an open letter to Cardinal Antonio Maria...

Los Angeles Times columnist Tim Rutten, a frequent critic of the Catholic Church, sees the political debate over same-sex marriage in New York as crucial to the future of the question all across...

The Archdiocese of Lima, Peru, has sharply denied charges by the noted author Mario Vargas Llosa that Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani was silent in the face of a forced-sterilization program during the...

A column by Anthony Esolen is invariably worth reading. His commentary on prudery, for The Catholic Thing, is no exception to that rule: The opposite of the prude, then, is not the cynical...

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at the basilica of St. John Lateran, and led a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome, as the Vatican observed the feast of Corpus Christi on June...

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver underlined the importance of protecting a distinctive Catholic identity as he spoke on June 21 to an audience of Catholic social workers. “The more that...

Police in Pakistan have arrested a man and held him for questioning in connection with the March 2 murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Catholic cabinet minister. Hafiz Nazar Muhammad is reportedly...

International agencies are belatedly recognizing the wisdom of Catholic approaches to curbing the spread of AIDS, according to the Vatican’s permanent representative at UN headquarters in...

A Dutch political leader has been acquitted of legal charges that were brought against him for allegedly inciting contempt for Muslims. Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party was prosecuted for...

A bankruptcy court in Wisconsin has authorized a forensic accountant to examine the financial transactions of the Milwaukee archdiocese, to determine whether Church officials made illicit transfer...

Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Missouri has appointed a new priest to handle sex-abuse complaints. The appointment of Father Joseph Powers as vicar for clergy removes the responsibility for...

The leading Catholic prelate of Malta has expressed regret that the Church was not able to do more to fight the acceptance of divorce—which was approved by a voter referendum in May. “We did our...

American pro-life activists have understandably concentrated their efforts on overturning the Roe v. Wade decision that overturned state laws against abortion. But William Saunders notes that many...

The introduction of Anglican ordinariates could help to bring liturgical renewal to the Catholic Church in Australia, suggests theologian Tracey Rowland, the author of Ratzinger’s Faith. Rowland...

Chinese authorities say that they are making plans to appoint new bishops, pointing toward a new clash with the Vatican. The government-controlled Xinhua news agency says that officials plan to...

A Serbian Orthodox bishop in Montenegro faces criminal charges for hate speech, after pronouncing a curse on government officials who are planning to raze a church. Bishop Amfilohije Radovic said...

An Irish bishop has decried the display of an art exhibit that includes images mocking the Virgin Mary. The exhibit of works by the Mexican artist Alma Lopez, on display at University College in...

The violence and unrest that has spread through the Middle East during the “Arab Spring” has been “a source of anxiety throughout the world,” Pope Benedict XVI said on June 24. The Pope said...

Patrick Reillly of the Cardinal Newman Society alerts the reading audience of the Wall Street Journal to the incursions by federal bureaucrats into the policy decisions of Catholic universities. The...

A Canadian radio personality charges that he was dismissed from his job because he spoke out privately against same-sex marriage. Damian Goddard lost his free-lance post with Rogers Sportsnet...

The chairman of Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission says that he sees Christians as a greater threat to religious freedom than Muslims. "I think the most likely victim of actual...

Chinese officials are threatening to install a new bishop for the Leshan diocese, ignoring the Vatican’s warning that the ordination of a bishop without approval from the Holy See will bring the...

Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See has confirmed that Pope Pius XII was responsible for protecting many Jews from the Holocaust. Speaking at an event honoring Father Gaetano Piccinini as a...

A judge in New Mexico has ordered the immediate removal of a billboard in which a man laments his girlfriend’s abortion. The judge told Greg Fultz to take down the billboard, which is currently...

The Italian daily La Stampa has inaugurated a new service designed to provide in-depth information and analysis regarding developments at the Vatican. The “Vatican Insider” will be a...

As he celebrated Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi on June 23, Pope Benedict XVI said that the day’s traditional Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome was a reminder “that the risen...

Although politicians in the developed world often call attention to the economic and social costs of admitting refugees, most of those who have fled from war and oppression are actually living not...

A new international survey conducted by the Pew Forum shows that Evangelical Protestants in the developing world are generally optimistic about the future prospects for their churches, while those...

A new study from the Family Research Council argues that the health of the family is the single most important factor in the American economy. “The key investors in both physical and human...

Pope Benedict XVI met on June 24 with Prime Minister Igor Luksic of Montenegro. Their discussions centered on a new accord between Montenegro and the Holy See, establishing the legal status of...

A new agreement by Delta Airlines to carry passengers to Saudi Arabia has come under criticism because of inaccurate reports that Delta had agreed to exclude Jewish passengers and to ban Bibles from...

The Russian city of St. Petersburg--known for decades as Leningrad--has granted permission for a Corpus Christi procession for the first time since the Russian Revolution in 1918. Archbishop...

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, a prominent contender for the Republican presidential nomination, was a practicing Catholic, but moved to a non-denominational Protestant church when he...

An Italian journalists’ union has suggested that if and when Pope John Paul II is canonized, he should be named the patron saint of modern communications. The Roman Reporters’ Union observed...

Political theorist Robert George sees a special significance in the lawsuit that John Banzhaf is bringing against the Catholic University of America, for switching to single-sex dormitories. That...

Cardinal Angelo Scola, the Patriarch of Venice, convened an impressive conference last week to discuss the implications of the “Arab spring.” Jean-Marie Guénois of Le Figaro reports that the...

Most Vatican journalists now agree that Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice will soon be named the new Archbishop of Milan, ending months of speculation over the appointment to the most prestigious see...

On June 25, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided at the beatification of three priests martyred by the Nazi regime in 1943. An estimated 5,000...

The bishops of New York State have issued a statement lamenting the State Senate’s 33-29 vote approving the legalization of same-sex marriage. Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Catholic, signed the measure...

Amid rumors that a church was being constructed, a mob of 200 Muslims looted and burned eight Coptic Christian homes in the village of Awlad Khalaf, Egypt, according to the Assyrian International...

The bishop of Naha--Okinawa’s capital city--has called for the closure of US military bases in the Japanese prefecture. “Japan has enjoyed peace for over 60 years, but the war has still not ended...

Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has welcomed the Environmental Protection...

Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, has devoted his weekly editorial to the Eucharist and globalization. The Eucharist, said Father Lombardi, is “the dynamism of...

For the 2nd time this month, Chinese officials have abruptly abandoned plans for the ordination of a bishop—after the priest who was to have been consecrated as a bishop obtained the approval of the...

The Vatican is launching a multimedia internet portal to provide news coverage of the Holy See. The new site—www.news.va—will go live on Tuesday evening, June 28: the eve of the feast of Sts....

The Vatican is preparing instructions for the reorganization of American dioceses that are facing severe financial pressures in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal, according to a report on the new...

A Portuguese cardinal has said that there are no major theological arguments against the ordination of women as priests. Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, the Patriarch of Lisbon, said that he is...

At his midday audience on Sunday, June 26, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the feast of Corpus Christi, which was being celebrated in many dioceses around the world that day. (The Vatican had...

Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, who said last week that Pope Pius XII had acted effectively to save Jews from the Nazi Holocaust, has backed away from that judgment, saying that it might be...

The leaders of the Legion of Christ are likely to step down at the order’s next general-chapter meeting, the vicar general told the Catholic News Agency. Father Luis Garza said that a change the...

The Vatican has released the official schedule of an August visit to Madrid by Pope Benedict XVI, where the Pope will participate in the 26th World Youth Day. Pope Benedict will leave Rome on...

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has issued a series of decrees clearing the way for the beatification of 19 people, and attesting to the “heroic virtue” of 8 other candidates who may now...

The Polish government has asked for Vatican assistance in curbing the influence of the Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, the fiery Radio Maryja broadcaster. The government sent a diplomatic note to the...

Pope Benedict XVI met on June 25 with the members of the Association of Sts. Peter and Paul, a group of volunteers who assist tourists and help with liturgical and charitable functions at the...

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania, who has submitted his resignation upon reaching the age of 75, after playing a leading role in opposition to the...

The Boston Globe provides a glimpse of active role that gay activists play in St. Cecilia’s parish, where a Mass celebrating Gay Pride was recently scheduled, postponed on orders from the Boston...

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Charmaine Yoest and Denise Burke of Americans United for Life decry the pressure that the Obama administration is putting on states that have or may cut off...

The Episcopal Commission for Doctrine of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a document on Pastoral Ministry to Young People with Same-Sex Attraction. “While always insisting...

Caritas Internationalis, the confederation of Catholic relief and development agencies, is urging the international community to “deploy every diplomatic resource, employ every incentive, and apply...

Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas is calling upon inmates at a prison outside Caracas to end a 10-day-old revolt. One inmate has been killed and 20 National Guard troops have been injured in...

Citing financial concerns, the Washington Theological Union has announced that it will close in 2013. Founded by six religious orders in 1968, the graduate school of theology and ministry has 1,400...

The California bishops’ public policy arm is urging members of the state assembly to reject a bill that would prohibit “discriminatory content” in history textbooks. “Professional educators and...

A parish in San Diego has canceled the funeral Mass of a parishioner who owned a lounge described in online reviews as a “legendary gay and lesbian bar.” Our Lady of the Rosary Church, the city’s...

The president of KAM Fundraising, Inc., has pleaded guilty to stealing over $360,000 from a Massachusetts Catholic school that had hired him to assist in raising funds for a capital campaign. The...

Pope Benedict XVI has named Cardinal Angelo Scola to become the Archbishop of Milan. The appointment, announced on June 28, confirms reports that have circulated in recent days, and puts...

More than 400,000 people have already registered to participate in the World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations in Spain in August, Vatican officials disclosed at a press conference on June...

On June 28, Pope Benedict XVI greeted a delegation of Orthodox Church officials to the Vatican, where they will join in the celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29. The...

Pope Benedict XVI officially launched the new Vatican news site with a click of the mouse on Tuesday evening, June 28. The Pope opened the news service with a short personal message, which went...

Researchers at the Vatican Museums have concluded that a painting on display there, which was thought to be a copy of a masterpiece by Correggio, is actually the work of Correggio himself. A...

New York Times editorial columnist Ross Douthat notes that mainstream observers in the West have finally noticed the problem of sex-selection, which has produced a striking disproportion in the...

The University of Notre Dame in Freemantle, Australia, is under pressure to cancel a scheduled lecture by Lord Monckton, a global-warming skeptic. An open letter, signed by a group of prominent...

As he celebrated Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29, Pope Benedict XVI devoted much of his homily to reflections on the 60th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, which fell...

Ignoring warnings from Rome, authorities in China have ordained a new Catholic bishop without the approval of the Holy See. The illicit ordination took place on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter...

As Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, L’Osservatore Romano has reprinted the Pope’s account—originally written in German—of the day of that...

The arrest of a controversial rabbi in Jerusalem has sparked unrest in the city and raised tensions among political leaders. Rabbi Dov Lior was taken into custody on June 27 after he endorsed a...

Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles spoke with Vatican Radio about the June 29 ceremony in which he received the pallium, indicative of the authority of a metropolitan archbishop and his ties to...

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria, is the target of a lawsuit brought by a victim of sexual abuse, who charges that the prelate failed to respond to a plea for help. The abuse...

William Saunders and Robert George welcome the news that the Cardinal Newman Society has launched a new Center for the Advancemetn of Catholic Higher Education, located at Mount St. Mary’s...

Vatican-watcher Andrea Tornielli of the Italian daily La Stampa sees the appointment of Cardinal Angelo Scola in Milan as the choice of “a pope who consults everyone, but in the end chooses for...

A French woman has brought suit against leaders of Opus Dei, charging that she was essentially held in servitude against her will at a school run by members of the group. The woman, identified...

L’Osservatore Romano has reported the “sensational” discovery of a 6th-century fresco of St. Paul, in the catacombs of St. Januarius in Naples. The image, discovered during restoration work in...

Three different journalists offer interesting perspectives on the role that Catholicism played in the political battle over same-sex marriage in New York: Columnist Maureen Dowd of the New York...

The Vatican is investigating a series of parish-closing decisions by Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland, an Italian journalist reports. Marco Tosatti of La Stampa writes that the Vatican plans an...

Pope Benedict XVI suggested that the theological differences between the Catholic and Orthodox churches are sometimes exaggerated, as he met with a group of Orthodox prelates representing Patriarch...

Shabhaz Bhatti was murdered by Islamic fanatics, and the Pakistani government is now pursuing the killers, according to the brother of the slain Catholic leader. "The investigations into the...

A new English translation of the Mass, which will be introduced in the US at the beginning of Advent, is “long overdue,” according to the executive director of the International Commission on...

The Vatican has released the prayer intentions of Pope Benedict XVI for July 2011. The Pope’s general intention is: “That Christ may ease the physical and spiritual sufferings of those who are...

L’Osservatore Romano must act as “a paper of ideas, an organ of formation and not only of information,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a message to the paper’s editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, as the Vatican...

Pope Benedict XVI held a private audience on June 30 with the 40 archbishops who had received the palllium in a ceremony the previous day. The Pope reminded the newly appointed archbishops—who...

At his midday public audience on Wednesday, June 29—the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul--Pope Benedict XVI interrupted his series of weekly talks on prayer to speak about the day’s ceremonies, the...

Pope Benedict XVI awarded the first Ratzinger Prizes on June 30 to three theologians, and used the occasion to warn that theology becomes “empty and baseless” if it is not enlivened by faith. The...

Cardinal George Sterzinsky, the retired Archbishop of Berlin, died on June 30 at the age of 75 after a long illness. Born in 1936, George Sterzinsky was trained in what was then East Germany and...

Zimbabwe has made impressive progress in curbing the spread of AIDS. The rate of adult AIDS infection was cut nearly in half—from 29% to 16%--in a decade. But the media rarely report on Zimbabwe’s...

Catholic and Protestant leaders representing “over 90% of the world’s total Christian population” have reached an agreement on standards for evangelization, aimed to counteract complaints of...

Former British prime minister Tony Blair argues that “the rights of religious minorities are a central issue for today,” in an interview with Vatican Insider. Blair explains that his new...

Reacting to the approval of same-sex marriage in New York, John-Henry Westen of LifeSiteNews issues an appeal to American bishops to speak out boldly in defense of marriage. The public debate will...

Catholics in Hong Kong rallied on June 29, under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Zen, to call for religious freedom in mainland China and the release of the imprisoned bishops and priests of the...

Two Christian pastors were assaulted by Hindu militants, then arrested by local police, after being accused of forcing Hindus to accept the Christian faith. The Global Council of Indian Christians...

Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence has issued a strong statement lamenting the passage of legislation allowing for civil unions in Rhode Island, and warned Catholics that they cannot be involved in...

A California bishop who was heavily criticized for his failure to report a priest’s sexual abuse has resigned. Bishop Daniel Walsh of Santa Rosa stepped down on June 30 at the age of 73—nearly...