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Vatican Offers Pilgrims Abortion Forgiveness for 6 Days

Excommunications to be lifted at Madrid's World Youth Day

(Newser) - The Vatican is marking World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid by offering women who have had abortions an easy way to become Catholics again, reports the Guardian . Abortion is punishable by instant excommunication and "normally, only certain priests have the power to lift such an excommunication, but the local... More »

Church Keeps Catholics Off British Throne

Anglican leader must not be subordinate to pope: Church of England

(Newser) - Royals are free to marry atheists, agnostics, Jews, and Muslims—but don’t expect a Catholic wedding anytime soon. The British government recently attempted to end a policy, in place for centuries, that bars marriages between royals and Catholics ... but the Church of England blocked the move, the Telegraph reports.... More »

Faithful Crucify Themselves in Philippines

At least 24 nailed to crosses

(Newser) - At least 24 Filipinos celebrated Good Friday in an incredibly painful fashion today, by voluntarily having people dressed as Roman soldiers drive four-inch stainless-steal nails through their palms, and then hoist them into the midday sun. Such ritual crucifixions are a tradition in the country, and the largest of them... More »

Protesters Smash 'Piss Christ'

Catholic activists hit it with a hammer in Avignon museum

(Newser) - A pair of extreme Catholic protesters celebrated Palm Sunday this weekend by bursting into the Museum of Contemporary Art in Avignon, France, and smashing Andres Serrano’s (in)famous photograph “Immersion Piss Christ,” and some other works of art they objected to, with hammers. According to a French report... More »

Diplomat Accused of Preaching Too Much Resigns

State dept. said Douglas Kmiec spent too much time touting Catholic beliefs

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s ambassador to Malta has resigned following a State Department report that blasted him for spending too much time speaking and writing about his Catholic beliefs—to the detriment of his actual work, Politico reports. In a resignation letter sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the... More »

Most Catholic Women Use Birth Control

98% of sexually active Catholics use or used contraceptives

(Newser) - The Catholic Church officially bans birth control—and that ban and a dollar will buy you a condom out of a vending machine. It turns out that a whopping 98% of sexually active Catholic women use or have used birth control, according to a new study from the Guttmacher reproductive... More »

Better Plan Ahead if You Want Last Rites

Shortage of Catholic priests makes last-minute requests tough

(Newser) - There's a shortage of Catholic priests these days, and that means that dying Catholics need to plan ahead if they want to get last rites. "Try to anticipate. Look at your last days instead of your last hour," one hospice minister tells USA Today , adding that sometimes it... More »

Sinning Catholic? There's an App for That

...but you still have to go to a priest if you want absolution

(Newser) - Have something you need to confess? There’s an app for that. "Confession: A Roman Catholic App" has actually been sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the US, Reuters reports. The app will walk you through the process as well as offer you a “personalized examination of conscience,... More »

Catholic Church Seeks Exorcists

Clergy attend weekend training session in Baltimore

(Newser) - Do you have a knack for battling Satan? The Catholic Church may have just the job for you. With just five or six of US priests capable of performing an exorcism and demand for exorcisms rising as Catholics who hail from countries where the rite doesn't evoke head-spinning immigrate to... More »

Wedding Announcement Costs Lesbian Her Job

University says Laine Tadlock resigned; she says she was pushed out

(Newser) - Laine Tadlock lost her job at a Catholic university—not because she’s gay, not because she married a woman, but because she published a wedding announcement. Tadlock says Illinois’ Benedictine University knew about her sexual orientation when she was hired, and that the university also knew about her trip... More »

Berlusconi Is Sick: Catholic Media

Italian PM accused of intervening in teen girl's theft case

(Newser) - A major Catholic magazine in Italy has blasted Silvio Berlusconi for having what it calls “a disease, something uncontrollable” when it comes to women, the Daily Telegraph reports. The latest accusation in the PM’s never-dull love life: That he stepped in and helped get an underage girl out... More »

Israel Slams Catholic Call to End Occupation of Palestine

Calls archbishop's comments 'libel'

(Newser) - Israel blasted a statement by Catholic bishops made during a conference in Rome that called for “an end to the occupation” of Palestinian territories. “We express our disappointment that this important synod has become a forum for political attacks on Israel in the best history of Arab propaganda,... More »

Iceland Legalizes Gay Marriage

Parliament unanimously approves redefinition of marriage

(Newser) - With little fanfare, Iceland's parliament unanimously passed a resolution legalizing gay marriage today, Reuters reports . The Althingi voted 49-0 to add mention of unions between "man and man" and "woman and woman" to the legal definition of marriage. Iceland's tolerance for homosexuality is well known—PM Johanna Sigurdardottir... More »

Add Kagan, and High Court Won't Have Any Protestants

Court rarely reflects country's faith mix well

(Newser) - If Elena Kagan is confirmed, the Supreme Court will have six Catholics, three Jews, and, for the first time in history, not a single Protestant. That might not seem as important as it used to, but Ed Kilgore of FiveThirtyEight decided to take a quick look at the court's historic... More »

Pope Hailed as 'Unfailing' Leader at Easter Mass

Pontiff keeps his silence on sex abuse scandals

(AP) - A senior cardinal defended Pope Benedict XVI from "petty gossip" today, praising his "unfailing" leadership, even as the pontiff maintained his silence on mounting accusations of sex abuse cover-ups during his Easter message. At the end of the two-hour long ceremony, a weary-looking Benedict delivered the papacy's traditional... More »

Scandal Threatens John Paul II's Sainthood

Questions swirl over late Pope's record on abuse

(Newser) - Questions swirled about John Paul II's legacy at a ceremony yesterday marking the 5th anniversary of his death. The inexplicable healing of a young French nun from Parkinson's disease had seemed like the miracle required for his sainthood. But, according to a Polish newspaper, there are now doubts the nun... More »

Cardinal: Maybe Celibacy's Not Such a Great Idea

Vatican 'needs to look into source of sex scandals'

(Newser) - The Catholic church needs to take a long hard look at its celibacy policy in the wake of its seemingly endless sex scandals, an influential cardinal says. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the archbishop of Vienna, wrote in his archdiocese magazine last week that the Vatican should carry out an "unflinching... More »

Dad May Get Jail for Taking Daughter to Church

He's under court order to raise tot Jewish

(Newser) - A Chicago man in a child custody battle has been arraigned on criminal contempt charges for taking his toddler daughter to a Catholic Church service. Joseph Reyes, 35, was under a restraining order not to "expose his daughter to any other religion than the Jewish religion." His estranged... More »

Book: John Paul II Whipped, Starved Himself

Pope self-flagellated in pursuit of 'Christian perfection,' says author

(AP) - Pope John Paul II whipped himself with a belt, even on vacation, slept on the floor, and frequently denied himself food as acts of penitence, says a new book by the Polish prelate spearheading his sainthood case. The book Why He's a Saint also includes previously unpublished speeches and documents,... More »

Byrne: I Was Molested at Seminary

Struggled for years to 'come to terms with it'

(Newser) - Actor Gabriel Byrne revealed yesterday that he was molested by priests as a child at his Irish school and at an English seminary. "Unfortunately, I experienced sexual abuse," said the star of In Treatment and Miller's Crossing. "It was a known fact that there was this particular... More »

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