clergy

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Despite 'Spiritual Halo,' Nuns Are Part of Something Darker

Victims who are sexually abused by women of the cloth aren't often discussed in church sex scandals

(Newser) - On Wednesdays, the support group meets over Zoom. Members talk about their lives, religious families, and old parochial schools. But mostly, they're there to talk about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Catholic nuns—and it's a topic that deserves more attention, they say. The...

After Pope's Public Comments, Nicaragua Frees Jailed Bishop

Along with 18 other clergy members

(Newser) - Nicaragua's government released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities, who welcomed them in Rome on Sunday. Bishop Rolando Alvarez—described by the New York Times as "one of the most...

State AG Releases Stunning Report on Church Sex Abuse

Report alleges 451 Catholic clergy in Illinois abused nearly 2K children from 1950 to 2019

(Newser) - In 2018, a grand jury report was released in Pennsylvania naming 300-plus "predator priests" in the state accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over a period of seven decades. Partly inspired by those revelations, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan started a probe in her own state,...

Report: French Catholic Church Showed 'Cruel Indifference'

Commission finds 330K children may have been sexually abused by clergy, laypeople since 1950

(Newser) - A new report slams the Catholic Church for "cruel indifference," with clergy in France accused of sexually abusing an estimated 216,000 children since 1950. Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the inquiry commissioned by the French Catholic Church, says most of the victims over the past seven decades were...

United Methodists Agree to Historic Split

Those who oppose gay marriage will form their own denomination

(Newser) - The United Methodist Church looks poised to allow same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy for the first time in its history—but it'll come at a cost. The nation's third-largest denomination will fracture as a result, as soon as May, reports the Washington Post . An agreement announced Friday—signed...

Vatican Cracks Down on 'Liberal' US Nuns

They're not hard enough on gays, abortion, women priests, says Rome

(Newser) - The Vatican is launching a massive crackdown on US nuns for their failure to attack gay marriage, female ordination, and abortion. Officials blasted the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group that oversees some 55,000 American nuns, for sponsoring conferences that feature "radical feminist themes incompatible with...

Presbyterians Vote to Allow Gay Clergy

Celibacy requirement to be scrapped

(Newser) - The Presbyterian Church USA has, after 33 years of debate, voted to allow the ordination of openly gay and lesbian ministers. A majority of the church's 173 governing bodies nationwide voted to scrap a requirement for clergy to live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a...

Angle: Let Clergy Endorse Candidates From Pulpit

Senate hopeful opposes gay adoption, all abortions

(Newser) - Sharron Angle wants to do away with a law banning political endorsements from tax-exempt places of worship, according to a questionnaire obtained by AP . The Nevada Senate hopeful—whose views on the separation of church and state have become an issue in the race—said clergy should be allowed to...

US Clergy: Overweight, Depressed, Burned Out

Pastors, rabbis, imams really need a vacation

(Newser) - They have higher rates of obesity, hypertension and depression than the general population, their life expectancy is shrinking, and many of them wish they had a different job. The clergy, once a profession associated with happiness and health, has a growing problem with burnout. Even the most immediate remedy—a...

Lutheran Branch Allows 'Monogamous' Gays as Clergy

Branch is US' largest, with 4.8M members

(Newser) - The largest US Lutheran denomination will allow gays in “life-long, monogamous” relationships to serve in clergy and other leadership positions, the Washington Post reports. Delegates at the convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America approved the measure 559-451; the denomination, which has 4.8 million US members, previously...

Episcopal Church Lifts Ban on Gay Bishops

Deeper rift with conservatives looms

(Newser) - Leaders of the Episcopal Church voted overwhelmingly yesterday to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian bishops, risking further fissures with conservative parishes and the Anglican Communion. The new policy reverses a 2006 compromise that prohibited the consecration of homosexual clergy, in line with other Anglican churches. Episcopalians will vote...

Episcopal Splinter Group to Ban Gay, Female Clergy

Ex-Pittsburgh bishop to lead new church

(Newser) - Hundreds of former Episcopal parishes are meeting to form the Anglican Church in North America this week, parting ways with their previous church to ban women and gays in the clergy. Robert Duncan, the former bishop of Pittsburgh, is leading the congregation of 300—including 50 bishops—and is expected...

Vatican Can Be Sued for Abuse: US Court

Ruling finds that Vatican can be held responsible for priests' actions

(Newser) - A federal court has ruled that the Vatican hierarchy can be sued for sexual abuse committed by priests, the Los Angeles Times reports. Judges decided that a man—who says he was molested by a priest in the '60s—can proceed with his lawsuit against the Vatican, even though it's...

Lutheran Panel Backs Gay Unions, 'Married' Gay Clerics

Task force seeks compromise on issue of non-celibate gay clergy

(Newser) - A task force from the nation's largest Lutheran denomination has recommended the church give its blessing to same-sex unions, reports the Los Angeles Times. The panel also recommended that the Evangelic Lutheran Church in America allow gays—currently only permitted to serve as clergy if they are celibate—to serve...

Pope Names Bishop Who Lauded 'Punishing' Katrina

Hurricane destroyed nightclubs, abortion clinic, notes pleased Austrian

(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.

Protestants Hold Inauguration Monopoly
Protestants Hold Inauguration Monopoly
ANALYSIS
Jan 20, 2009 7:42 AM CST

Protestants Hold Inauguration Monopoly

Priests, rabbis have been missing from ceremony for 20 years

(Newser) - Barack Obama's swearing-in will be the sixth straight inauguration where rabbis and Catholic priests will be absent from the dais, reports Time. For decades it was traditional to have Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish representatives at the ceremony, but Billy Graham’s invocation (and benediction) at George Bush’s 1989 inauguration...

Critics Rip Pope's 'Homophobic' Speech

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

(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,...

Pope Apologizes for 'Evil' Clergy Sex Abuse

Pontiff tells Australia child abusers have damaged the church

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI used unusually strong language today in condemning the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Catholic clergy, reports the AP. The pontiff said the clergy's "grave betrayal of trust" had damaged the Catholic church. "I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have...

Pope to Church: Pedophilia Was 'Badly Handled'

He urges bishops to 'foster healing' and work to improve trust

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI had strong words for America's Roman Catholic bishops today, asserting that the clerical sexual molestation scandal had been "very badly handled" in many cases, the AP reports. "It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust,...

$500M Bush Library Deal Expected Today

Southern Methodist University trustees voting on controversial project

(Newser) - Southern Methodist University's trustees are expected to vote today to bring George W. Bush's presidential library to the Texas institution, reports the Dallas Morning News.  The agreement will be "a great day for SMU," said the university's president. But the road to a final agreement at Laura...

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