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NEWS ABOUT: Roman Catholic Church

Hardest Word for Pope: Sorry

Why Benedict won't be apologizing anytime soon

(Newser) - Pope Benedict didn't join the many bishops in countries plagued by sex abuse scandals who said "sorry" during this Holy Week, and you won't hear that word come from his mouth any time soon. That's because the Pope "operates on an entirely different public relations plane to media-savvy... More »

Pope's Preacher Addresses Anti-Semitism Remark Backlash

Raniero Cantalamessa says he's sorry 'if I hurt feelings'

(Newser) - The Vatican official who compared the fallout from the church's alleged cover-up of child sex-abuse cases to the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism" has acknowledged the subsequent firestorm of criticism but stopped short of apologizing. "If—and it was not my intention to do so—I hurt the... 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 »

Vatican Biggies Defend Pope, Blast NY Times

Cardinal: NY Times unfair to church, Benedict

(Newser) - The Vatican has come out swinging over Pope Benedict's handling of sexual abuse cases, with one top cardinal blasting the New York Times for unfair coverage on the Vatican website and in a Times interview , while another claims the pontiff has immunity from prosecution. "The Church is not a... More »

Minn. Lawyer Who Targeted Pope Has Won $60M in Settlements

Jeff Anderson wants to question Benedict under oath

(AP) - Before he last week released documents showing that an office led by Pope Benedict XVI halted a trial against a priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys, Jeff Anderson had already filed thousands of lawsuits alleging sex abuse by priests and won more than $60 million for his clients.... More »

Future Pope Got Memo on Pedophile Priest

Church claimed deputy was responsible in German abuse case

(Newser) - Joseph Ratzinger, who now heads the Roman Catholic church as Pope Benedict XVI, was told in a 1980 memo that a pedophile priest would return to pastoral work in Germany—and, as archbishop of Munich, Ratzinger approved the decision that allowed the Rev. Peter Hullermann not only back into the... More »

Catholics Push Sainthood for First Black US Priest

Rev. Augustus Tolton led Chicago mission

(Newser) - Chicago’s Roman Catholic leader is making a case that the faith’s first known black priest in the US should be made a saint, with Cardinal Francis George today asking a commission to bring the Vatican evidence of the “heroic virtues” of the Rev. Augustus Tolton. Tolton, the... More »

Condom Machine in School Enrages Vatican

Italy's first, church says it 'trivializes sexuality'

(Newser) - Just a few miles from the Vatican, Italian teens can now buy condoms from vending machines in the bathrooms of their high school—and the Catholic Church is none too happy. In a rebuke to the church's position on birth control, the school yesterday became the first in all of... More »

Gays Denied Communion: Then Turn Away All Sinners

Wig-wearing activists storm out of Dutch church

(Newser) - Hundreds of Dutch gay rights activists dressed in pink wigs stormed out of Mass yesterday in protest of a local Catholic priest's refusal to give communion to a gay man. The dispute began last month when the man, crowned Carnival prince in a nearby town, was denied communion because he... More »

Pope Urges UK Bishops to Fight Gay Equality Bill

Legislation 'violates the natural law,' pontiff contends

(Newser) - Pope Benedict wants English and Welsh bishops to fight proposed human rights legislation with "missionary zeal." The Equality Bill, which is pending in Parliament, is intended to combat discrimination on the basis of sex, race, disability, religion, or sexual orientation, but the pontiff argues that "it actually... More »

Pope OK After Incident Before Christmas Mass

Woman clears barrier at Vatican, knocks down pontiff

(Newser) - A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI tonight as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass, a Vatican spokesman says. The pope was not hurt and quickly got up. Benedict, 82, calmly resumed his walk to the basilica's... More »

Vatican Praises The Simpsons' Take on God

Despite his jokes, Homer knows Him 'quite well'

(Newser) - The Vatican's newspaper sees right through Homer Simpson’s superficial ambivalence about—or even ignorance of—God to a soul that finds its “ultimate refuge in” the supreme deity. In a study of that great theological repository, The Simpsons, the editors of L'Osservatore Romano praise its portrayal of “... More »

Catholic Church Welcomes Disgruntled Anglicans

Extends a hand to those unhappy with gay bishops, ordained women

(AP) - Pope Benedict XVI has created a new church structure for Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, responding to the disillusionment of some Anglicans over the ordination of women and the election of openly gay bishops. The new provision will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining... More »

Pope Canonizes Father Damien

Belgian missionary, four others elevated to sainthood

(Newser) - Father Damien, the Belgian missionary who ministered to leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai before contracting and dying of the disease, was canonized today. The 19th-century priest, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and three others were elevated to sainthood in a ceremony that drew... More »

Flu-Fearing Churches Ban Peace Handshakes

'Sign of peace,' prayer hand holding barred amid swine flu warnings

(Newser) - Churches nationwide are bracing for cases of swine flu, with one in Cincinnati banning peace handshakes during Mass, the Enquirer reports. The Catholic church passed out a flier telling parishioners not to shake with their neighbors during the “sign of peace” or clasp hands during the “Our Father”... More »

Italy OKs RU-486; Vatican Threatens Excommunications

(Newser) - Italy has legalized the abortion drug RU-486, drawing the ire of the Vatican, which threatened to excommunicate doctors who prescribe the medication and women who take it. A church official said using the pill is "a sin in a moral and juridical sense," but a politician who is... More »

Vatican Warms to Wilde

Paper praises writer's 'lucid' analysis of his world

(Newser) - The Vatican long regarded Oscar Wilde as a “dissolute homosexual,” but things have changed, writes Richard Owen in the Times of London. A review in the Vatican newspaper of a study on the Irish writer celebrates him as “one of the personalities of the 19th century who... More »

Kissing Priest Marries Galpal

(Newser) - In scarcely more than a month, Alberto Cutié has gone from celebrity priest to sex scandal poster boy to Episcopalian—now he can add boring old married guy to his resume, reports the AP. The Miami priest who left the Catholic Church amid a racy photo scandal married his secret... More »

'Father Oprah,' Fiancée Set Wedding Date

Former Catholic cleric plans Episcopalian nuptials

(Newser) - The onetime Catholic priest whose cavorting with his then-girlfriend led to his departure from the church is headed for the altar—as the groom. The Rev. Alberto Cutié, aka the "kissing priest," and his girlfriend of 2 years plan to wed this month in the Episcopal church,... More »

Kissing Fla. Priest Joins Episcopal Church

He's expected to marry girlfriend and keep preaching

(Newser) - The Miami priest who sparked a debate on celibacy earlier this month when he was caught kissing and embracing a woman has left the Roman Catholic church to join the more liberal Episcopalians. The latter doesn’t require chastity for priests, and Alberto Cutié is expected to announce that he’... More »

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