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NEWS ABOUT: Catholic priest

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Philadelphia Archbishop Retires Amid Scandal

Pope accepts Cardinal Justin Rigali's resignation

(AP) - Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Philadelphia archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali today, sending him into retirement as the archdiocese faces accusations that it covered up a long-running priest sex abuse scandal. The pope named conservative Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput to succeed him. The brief Vatican announcement said the resignation... More »

Church-Backed Study Blames '60s for Sex Abuse

Priests were ill-equipped to deal with social change, study finds

(Newser) - The Catholic Church's requirement for all priests to be celibate is not to blame for the church's sex abuse scandals, according to a study commissioned by and partially funded by America's Catholic bishops. The study concludes that most sex abuse cases involved priests trained in the '... More »

Vatican Sacks Bishop Who Wanted Women Priests

William Morris also argued church should consider ordaining married men

(Newser) - An Australian bishop claims the Roman Catholic church sacked him because he advocated the ordaining of women and married men. The Vatican confirmed today that Bishop William Morris had been "removed from pastoral care" by Pope Benedict XVI, and Morris claims the ouster was a result of a 2006... More »

TV Priest Bares Affair With Cuz

'Word in the World's' Michael Manning 'fesses up

(Newser) - A popular priest who leads a worldwide TV ministry is taking a leave from his California diocesan duties after revealing an affair with a second cousin. Michael Manning 'fessed up after a local newspaper received a series of intimate notes between Manning and his former lover, a schools superintendent from... 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 »

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Files for Bankruptcy

Hit stalemate over transparency in sex abuse lawsuits

(Newser) - Overwhelmed by 23 sex abuse lawsuits, the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy yesterday. In so doing, Milwaukee followed seven other dioceses also forced into bankruptcy by the costs of litigating and settling claims against their priests for sexual abuse. The bankruptcy filing followed a failed mediation effort that... More »

Son of Top Hitler Aide Accused of Child Sex Abuse

He became a priest to atone for father's sins, Bormann told press

(Newser) - The son of a top Hitler aide who was supposedly spending his life atoning for his father's sins is being accused of years of child abuse at a Catholic school. The former priest, son of Hitler secretary Martin Bormann, violently and sexually abused students as headmaster at an exclusive Austrian... More »

It's a Girl for Miami Priest

Father Alberto Cutié welcomes daughter with his wife

(Newser) - A popular Miami priest who left his Catholic order after admitting to a long-time affair is celebrating the birth of a baby girl with his wife. "With thanksgiving to God, the giver of all life, my wife and I announce the birth of our beautiful baby daughter, Camila Victoria... More »

Cops: Priest Tried to Hire Hit Man to Kill Teen Accuser

Neighbor offered $5K to kill boy, say investigators

(Newser) - What's more damaging to the Catholic Church's image than a priest accused of sexual assault? How about a priest accused of sexual assault who allegedly tries to hire a hit man to kill his teen accuser? Investigators say 52-year-old Texas priest John Fiala offered a neighbor $5,000 to kill... 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 »

Sex Abuse Victim Savagely Attacks Priest

He 'filled my life with rage and bitterness,' says California man

(Newser) - A California man who accused a Catholic priest of sexually abusing him as a child has been arrested after savagely beating the cleric in the lobby of his retirement home, police report. William Lynch, 43, said he dreamed for years of exacting revenge on the man he charged molested him... More »

New Sex Guru: Polish Priest

Father Ksawery Knotz takes on human sexuality

(Newser) - When you think "sex advice," chances are you don't think "celibate Catholic priest" in the same nanosecond. Meet Father Ksawery Knotz , the church's answer to Dan Savage—sort of. Author of tomes like Sex Is Divine, the Polish priest is making waves by taking a decidedly modern... More »

Church Cries Foul on Dutch Soccer Mass

Pastor suspended after praying for Holland to beat Spain

(Newser) - A Dutch priest is in hot water for praying— in vain —that the Netherlands would defeat Spain at a Mass celebrated the day of the World Cup final, reports the BBC . Paul Vlaar decorated his church in the team color, orange; wore orange and white vestments; and played along... More »

Cops: Priest Used Stolen $1.3M for Male Escorts

Conn. priest lived the high life

(Newser) - A Connecticut Catholic priest spent $1.3 million in stolen church funds on male escorts, Armani suits, and stays at the Waldorf-Astoria, according to law enforcement authorities. Rev. Kevin Gray, until recently a parish priest in Waterbury, also paid the college tuition and rent of two of the young men... More »

Pope Begs Forgiveness Over Priest Sex Abuse

But he defends celibacy for clergy

(Newser) - Pope Benedict today asked "forgiveness from God" and the children abused by Catholic priests, and promised that the Catholic Church would "do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again." At a gathering of some 15,000 Catholic clergy in Rome to mark the... More »

Priests' Mistresses Ask Pope to Scrap Celibacy Rule

Nearly 40 write open letter to the Vatican

(Newser) - About 40 Italian women have written an unusual open letter to Pope Benedict asking him to end the church's celibacy rule for priests. The odd hook? All the women claim to have had (or are having) intimate affairs with priests or monks, reports GlobalPost , which talks to some of the... More »

Pope Vows 'Church Action' on Abuse

Benedict's first public comments on the scandal in a month

(AP) - Pope Benedict XVI promised today that the Catholic Church would confront the clerical sex-abuse scandal, making his first public comments on the crisis days after meeting with victims. During his weekly public audience, Benedict recounted his tearful weekend meeting in Malta with eight men who say they were abused as... More »

Horrific Abuse Alleged at Monastery in Pope's Old Turf

Abuse transpired in Ratzinger's archdiocese

(Newser) - More bad news for the Catholic Church from Pope Benedict's native Germany, where monks and lay teachers stand accused of abusing students for decades at an elite Catholic boarding school near Munich. Allegations from more than 100 students that monks "brutally mistreated, sadistically tormented and, not least, sexually abused"... More »

Vatican to Bishops: Report Sex Abuse to Cops

Guidelines the first to mandate clergy obey civil law

(AP) - The Vatican today responded to allegations that it had concealed years of clerical sex abuse by mandating for the first time that bishops and other high-ranking clerics should report such crimes to police if required by law. "Where the civil state creates an obligation to report, bishops are required... More »

Calif. Priest's Victim: 'He Was God'

Four decades later, Stephen Kiesle's victim speaks out

(Newser) - It started with a 7-year-old girl innocently sitting on the lap of the playful "big kid" priest with the purple sneakers, and it quickly turned to sexual abuse that he framed as exorcisms. "He told me I had the devil inside me" as he touched her chest and... More »

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