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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Catholicism

Catholicism stories: 66 news summaries

1 - 20 of 66 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Vatican Historian: 
 Shroud of Turin 
 Is Authentic 

Barely visible writing has Jesus' name, she says

Nov 20, 09 11:24 AM CST
(AP) - A researcher at the Vatican archives claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth. Author Barbara Frale says computer-enhanced images of faint Greek, Latin, and Aramaic words show the name "Jesus Nazarene" in a writing style... More »

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Vatican • Catholicism • Jesus Christ • Shroud of Turin

 ET, Phone Rome: 
 Vatican Holds 
 Alien Conference 

Astrobiology experts ponder big picture

Nov 11, 09 2:35 AM CST
(Newser) - Does intelligent life exist elsewhere in the universe and if so, is it Christian? Those and other weighty questions are up for discussion this week at a Vatican conference on astrobiology. Religious leaders and a range of scientists—including some non-Catholics—have been called in to discuss the possibility of... More »

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astronomy • Catholic Church • Vatican • extraterrestrial life • aliens • Catholicism • outer space • theology

 Court Bans Crucifixes 
 in Italian Classrooms 

Government plans to appeal European decision

Nov 3, 09 3:32 PM CST
(Newser) - A European court has ruled that the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms violates religious freedom. In a decision denounced by Italian politicians, the court said the compulsory display of the crucifix prevents parents from raising kids with the religion of their choice and restricts the "right of children... More »

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European Union • Italy • religion • Catholicism • European Court of Human Rights • crucifiction

 Houses of Worship 
 Adapt to Swine Flu 

Synagogues, churches, mosques get ready for H1N1

Sep 20, 09 5:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Places of worship across the country are adjusting holy rituals to head off swine flu, CBS News reports. On the Jewish New Year, one Massachusetts synagogue is skipping handshakes and promoting the use of hand sanitizer—and, in a substantial break from tradition, allowing worshipers to not kiss the Torah.... More »

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Islam • Jews • Muslims • Judaism • Catholicism • mosque • synagogue • Catholics • swine flu • H1N1 virus

Flu-Fearing Churches Ban Peace Handshakes

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

Sep 8, 09 2:37 PM CDT
(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 »

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Catholic Church • Catholicism • Cincinnati • Roman Catholic Church • swine flu • H1N1 virus • handshake

 Kennedy to Pope: Pray for Me 

Senator wrote letter delivered by Obama

Aug 30, 09 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - In the months before he died, Ted Kennedy penned a letter to Pope Benedict beseeching the pontiff's prayers—and enlisted no less a messenger than the leader of the free world to deliver it, reports CNN. “I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me... More »

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Pope Benedict XVI • Ted Kennedy • faith • Catholicism • prayer • Catholic • political dynasty • brain cancer • President Obama • letter

OPINION

 Vatican 
 Warms 
 to Wilde 

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

Jul 17, 09 9:38 AM CDT
(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 »

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England • religion • Vatican • literature • history • Catholicism • Britain • Roman Catholic Church • playwright • Oscar Wilde • drama • L'Osservatore Romano

OPINION

She's Catholic, Too, You Know

There's zero scrutiny
of Sotomayor's religion because she's pro-choice

Jul 14, 09 11:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor would be the sixth Catholic on the Supreme Court, but that’s getting relatively little attention because of a political double-standard, writes William McGurn of the Wall Street Journal. When Samuel Alito was the nominee du jour, Democrats worried that he’d be the fifth Catholic. But... More »

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abortion • gay marriage • Catholicism • diversity • Catholic • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor • Supreme Court justice

OPINION

Pope Has
Best Take on Financial Crisis

Goldman exec touts Benedict's 6-point plan for global economy

Jul 13, 09 10:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - All of Pope Benedict XVI's gaffes and controversies have obscured his principal appeal, writes Brian Griffiths in the Times of London: he's a scholar, with an uncommon command of theology and philosophy. For Griffiths, a vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs, the pope's recent encyclical on the economy is "without... More »

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ethics • Pope Benedict XVI • Catholic Church • Goldman Sachs • capitalism • Catholicism • encyclical • free markets • financial crisis

(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 »

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Episcopal Church • marriage • Catholicism • priest • Roman Catholic Church • Alberto Cutié • celibacy • Ruhama Buni Canellis

Confession Isn't Therapy, Church Warns

Priests told to get tough on sinners instead of providing counseling sessions

Jun 4, 09 4:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Vatican plans a campaign to remind priests that the confessional isn't a psychiatrist's couch, the Guardian reports. A handbook will be issued to emphasize that sinners are in confession to be given penance, not counseling sessions. The number of Catholics going to confession has slumped in recent years and... More »

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Catholic Church • Vatican • Catholicism • Catholic • confession

(Newser) - The first pizza shop in Domino’s founder Thomas Monaghan’s Catholic university town of Ave Maria, Fla., will not be a Domino’s, the Fort Myers News-Press reports. Domino’s says the town is covered by another franchise’s delivery radius, and Ave Maria will get a Milano’s... More »

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Florida • Catholic Church • Domino's Pizza • Ave Maria • Catholicism • pizza • Thomas Monaghan • Milano's Pizza

OPINION

Anti-Abortion
'Extremists' Got
Nothing on Prez

Zealous Notre Dame protests will further
hurt their cause

May 17, 09 11:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Randall Terry and other “Catholic extremists” will lead protests against President Obama’s speech at Notre Dame today—but their anti-abortion zealotry will only continue to hurt their cause, writes Frances Kissling in Salon. “The idea that anything goes in fighting abortion died” in the ‘90s when... More »

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abortion • abortion rights • protests • Catholicism • Notre Dame • bishop • protesters • President Obama

OPINION

Catholics 'Will
Enjoy' Da Vinci
Prequel: Howard

Director defends Angels & Demons from 'smear campaign'

Apr 21, 09 5:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ron Howard wants to make something clear: He is not anti-Catholic, and neither is his upcoming film, Angels & Demons. The beleaguered prequel to the similarly controversial Da Vinci Code is under fire from the Catholic League, and Howard responds to the latest “silly and mean-spirited work of propaganda”... More »

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entertainment • film • Catholic Church • Vatican • Catholicism • Catholic • Da Vinci Code • Dan Brown • Ron Howard • Angels & Demons

 Religious Tourists 
 Still Flocking to Italy 

Easter likely to see 100,000 in St. Peter's Square

Apr 10, 09 7:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - While industries around the world feel the weight of recession, Italy’s religious tourism appears fairly immune, USA Today reports. “It's one of the only areas where things haven't slowed down much," said a religious tour marketer. "Religious pilgrims still want to have the same experiences”—... More »

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Vatican City • tourism • Italy • Vatican • recession • global economy • Catholicism • religious pilgrims • St. Peter's Square • pilgrimage

Pope May Reshape US Church as Bishops Age Out

Many bishops nearing retirement as church faces big changes

Apr 5, 09 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - With many bishops nearing the age of required retirement, the Vatican has a chance to reinvent the US Catholic Church, moving beyond church sex scandals and adapting to a growing immigrant presence, reports the Los Angeles Times. Almost a third of 265 current US bishops must step down in the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Pope Benedict XVI • United States • Vatican • retirement • resignation • Catholicism • bishop

Pope Names Bishop Who Lauded 'Punishing' Katrina

Hurricane destroyed nightclubs, abortion clinic, notes pleased Austrian

Feb 2, 09 5:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Days after welcoming back to the church a bishop who denies the Holocaust existed, Pope Benedict has sparked controversy again for promoting a controversial Austrian ultra-conservative cleric. Gerhard Maria Wagner claims the Harry Potter series spreads satanism and that Hurricane Katrina was punishment for New Orleans' lax morals. More »

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Harry Potter • Hurricane Katrina • Pope Benedict XVI • Vatican • Catholicism • Tsunami • clergy • bishop • controversy

 Critics Rip Pope's 
 'Homophobic' Speech 

Pontiff's call for defense of gender roles seen as stoking homophobia

Dec 24, 08 7:51 AM CST
(Newser) - Gay and Christian groups have slammed Pope Benedict XVI's remarks that defending the “natural order” of man and woman is as important as protecting the rainforests, the Times of London reports. British Catholic leaders have countered that the pontiff didn’t explicitly mention homosexuality in his annual Christmas speech,... More »

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gender • Pope Benedict XVI • homophobia • Catholic Church • homosexuality • Catholicism • gender roles • clergy • gays

opinion

 Time to Give Joseph His Due  

Priest sees stolid husband to Jesus's mother as a role model

Dec 23, 08 8:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and even the Three Kings come to mind at Christmastime, but rarely do Christians think of humble Joseph. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, writes in Slate that forgetting the man who raised Jesus—the reason for the season—is unfair. "It's time to take a... More »

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Christianity • Catholicism • Christmas • Virgin Mary • Jesus Christ • st. joseph

Priest Slams 'Blasphemous' Playboy Cover
of Veiled Maria

Church still furious after magazine apology

Dec 16, 08 4:28 AM CST
(Newser) - Playboy's apology for a cover appearing to show a breast-flashing Virgin Mary isn't penance enough, a furious priest tells CNN. Playboy Mexico said the picture of a veiled model in front of a stained-glass window with the caption "Te Adoramos María"—"We Adore You, Maria"—... More »

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Latin America • Mexico • Catholicism • priest • Playboy • adult magazines

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