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NEWS ABOUT: Catholicism

Time to Give Joseph His Due

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

(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 »

Priest Slams 'Blasphemous' Playboy Cover of Veiled Maria

Church still furious after magazine apology

(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 »

Prop 8 Reveals Churches' Fear of Strong Women

Religions fear the crumbling of 'male authority:' Rodriguez

(Newser) - Churches led the charge against Proposition 8 and gay marriage because of their insecurities over the breakdown of heterosexual families and the consequent rise of independent women, says gay author and devout Catholic Richard Rodriguez. Gays are scapegoats because they—like feminists—threaten "an alternative to the traditional male-structured... More »

Catholics, Muslims Seek Common Ground at Vatican

Christian-Muslim talks emphasize common belief

(Newser) - Clerics of the world’s two largest faiths are meeting at the Vatican this week to improve relations between the long-divided communities. Muslim clerics invited Christians to dialogue after comments Pope Benedict made in 2006 that implied Islam was violent and irrational. The mostly male Vatican members and imams will... More »

John Paul Wounded in '82 Stabbing by Priest

Testimony reveals pope sustained injuries, covered up by Rome, in attack at Fatima

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II was injured in a 1982 stabbing by a crazed priest, but the wound was kept secret until now, Reuters reports. The late pontiff was visiting a shrine in Portugal to give thanks for surviving an earlier assassination attempt when an ultra-conservative Spanish priest lunged at him... More »

Christianity in China Grows Quickly, Quietly

Government puts total enrollment at 21M; others say 130M

(Newser) - Despite government restrictions, Christianity in China is widespread and growing. Authorities typically look the other way, occasionally applying pressure that only seems to spread religion's influence, reports the Economist. Most of the Protestant "house churches" consist of 25 people—the largest legal gathering—where new Christians lead newer converts... More »

French Muslims Find Freedom in Catholic Schools

Students get better education, and allowed to wear headscarf

(Newser) - France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, but its strict separation of church and state means that Muslim girls are forbidden from wearing the headscarves in public schools. In response, many Muslims have turned to an unlikely solution: the nation's large network of Catholic schools. "There is respect for... More »

Pope Calls for Holding Line on Divorce

Benedict, in France, urges bishops to ignore trends

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI urged bishops to uphold the Catholic tradition of marriage today during a 150,000-strong mass in Lourdes, the French town where apparitions of Madonna reportedly appeared in 1858, AFP reports. Benedict pledged not to allow divorced Catholics into the church and told bishops to "uphold firmly,... More »

Kennedy Scion's Book Probes Catholic Tension

Attempts to reconcile faith's teachings with modern life baffle many

(Newser) - Kerry Kennedy—the seventh of Bobby's 11 children—is taking on everything from clergy abuse to hierarchy in the Catholic Church in a book out tomorrow, the Boston Globe reports. In Being Catholic Now, the churchgoing 49-year-old interviews prominent Catholics like Nancy Pelosi, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Sheen about common... More »

Vatican Objects to Image of Frog on Crucifix

Calls it 'desecration,' but Italian museum won't take it down

(Newser) - Despite objections from the pope, a sculpture of a crucified frog will continue to hang in an Italian museum, board officials said today. The Vatican slammed the work, called Feet First, as a blasphemous attack on Christianity. But museum officials cited artistic freedom and said its German creator considered the... More »

Aussie Court Strikes Down Law Banning Pope Protests

Law against 'annoying' Catholics attending papal events ruled unconstitutional

(Newser) - An Australian court has struck down a law aimed at curbing protests during Pope Benedict XVI's visit Down Under, reports Reuters. The law, ruled unconstitutional, had banned protesters from "annoying" those attending papal events. People handing out condoms or wearing anti-Pope t-shirts faced possible $5,000 fines. More »

Obama Just Wants Evangelicals Not to Fear Him

Reassuring those unlikely to vote for him will cool opposition, could win over undecideds

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s plan to cut the Democrats' evangelical deficit (68%-30% in 2000, 78-21% in '04)? Convince the religious right he’s not the devil. That’s a “radically different” course from the one taken by John Kerry and Al Gore, what Jeff Greenfield, on Slate, calls a “... More »

Italian Churches Ban Da Vinci Code Prequel

Howard, Hanks shut out of would-be shooting locations

(Newser) - The diocese of Rome is branching out into film criticism and banning a DaVinci Code prequel from shooting in two of the city's churches because the first movie was “harmful to religious feeling,” the ANSA news agency reports. Like the original, Angels & Demons is directed by Ron... More »

Rumors From Vatican: Bush May Convert

Sit-down with pope sparks talk that prez could turn Catholic

(Newser) - President Bush visited Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican yesterday, sparking rumors that the president may convert to Catholicism, the Telegraph reports. They spoke in a garden where the pontiff prays daily, not in the library where Benedict greets most world leaders. “What an honor!” said Bush, who... More »

Abortion Digs on VP Hopeful Sebelius Are Ridiculous

But nice try, right wing

(Newser) - Right-wingers may be gleefully lampooning Kathleen Sebelius as a money-launderer for an abortion doc, Tim Rutten writes in the Los Angeles Times, but one could make the equally ridiculous case that by writing about it Robert Novak is an Opus Dei operative plotting a national overthrow. Abortion couldn't hurt the... More »

Oh, Baby! Jumpers Ward Off Devil

Men dressed as demons soar over infants in festival

(Newser) - Men dressed as demons leapt over rows of placid babies in a Spanish village yesterday in a rite intended to protect them from evil spirits. During a festival marking the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi, infants lie on mattresses as long-jumpers in red-and-yellow costumes fly over them. No one was... More »

Pundit's Pontificating Draws Fire

Maher sorry for Nazi jibe, but Catholics want scalp over cult remarks

(Newser) - Not for the first time, people are calling for Bill Maher's head—in this case for taking pot shots at Pope Benedict XVI on his HBO show. "If you have a few hundred followers and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader,"... More »

Pope Says Mass at Stadium

Benedict remarks on 'pain' of sex abuse scandal in appearance before 46K

(Newser) - Washington's Nationals Park was transformed into a church today as more than 46,000 gathered to hear Pope Benedict XVI say Mass. Beer stands were replaced with confessionals and choirs filled the outfield as the popemobile circled the bases, the Washington Post reports. Giving his homily in English and Spanish,... More »

US Catholics Like Benedict, but Not Rome

Poll shows faithful admire pontiff but find church out of sync

(Newser) - As Pope Benedict XVI arrives for his first visit to America, a Washington Post poll finds that the pontiff enjoys wide support among US Catholics. Nearly three in four say that they have a positive impression of Benedict. But the poll also reveals that most Catholics find the church out... More »

Domino's Founder Grows His Catholic-Friendly Town

After a year, Florida's Ave Maria boasts close to 1K residents

(Newser) - Almost a year after opening, Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan’s made-to-order Catholic town is growing. Although the 1,000 residents of Ave Maria, Fla., are not exclusively Catholic, the town wears it identity on its sleeve: The only coffee shop plays Mass on TV 24/7, and the bookstores prominently... More »

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