INSIDER
What to know about the Los Angeles Catholic Church's $880M settlement with sexual abuse victims
Read full article: What to know about the Los Angeles Catholic Church's $880M settlement with sexual abuse victimsThe Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades.
Catholic reform debate launched by Pope Francis leans away from ordained roles for women
Read full article: Catholic reform debate launched by Pope Francis leans away from ordained roles for womenPope Francis' big Catholic reform project has opened with widespread calls for women to take up more positions of responsibility in the church topping the agenda.
Two tales from one city show the challenges Pope Francis faces to retain his flock in Europe
Read full article: Two tales from one city show the challenges Pope Francis faces to retain his flock in EuropePope Francis will be visiting Belgium on a trip starting Thursday, facing a flock ravaged by countless scandals of priest sexual abuse and dwindling in the face of modernity, where women and gays insist on an equal role and rights.
A review of some of Pope Francis' most memorable quotes over his papacy
Read full article: A review of some of Pope Francis' most memorable quotes over his papacyFlying back to Rome from a lengthy trip to Asia, Pope Francis criticized both U.S. presidential candidates for what he called anti-life policies on abortion and migration.
Catholic leaders raise concerns over judicial reform pushed by Mexico's president
Read full article: Catholic leaders raise concerns over judicial reform pushed by Mexico's presidentMexico’s Catholic leaders have raised their concerns over a controversial judicial reform pushed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Pope urges church in Papua New Guinea to be close to women after hearing of sorcery 'superstitions'
Read full article: Pope urges church in Papua New Guinea to be close to women after hearing of sorcery 'superstitions'Pope Francis has called for the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to women who have been abused and marginalized.
Church sex abuse scandals in East Timor met by silence, but Pope Francis’ visit brings new attention
Read full article: Church sex abuse scandals in East Timor met by silence, but Pope Francis’ visit brings new attentionWhen the Vatican acknowledged in 2022 that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys, it appeared that the global clergy sexual abuse scandal that has compromised the Catholic Church’s credibility around the world had finally arrived in Asia’s newest country.
An offering, a fire, a prayer. How a Mexico City community celebrates its pre-Hispanic origins
Read full article: An offering, a fire, a prayer. How a Mexico City community celebrates its pre-Hispanic originsA couple of decades ago, when Claudia Santos felt the need for spiritual shelter, she dug into her countries’ history and there she found it: Her ancestors, the Mexica.
Apache Christ icon controversy sparks debate over Indigenous Catholic faith practices
Read full article: Apache Christ icon controversy sparks debate over Indigenous Catholic faith practicesThe congregation at St. Joseph Apache Mission in the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico, is struggling to deal with the hurt caused by their priest removing a cherished painting called the Apache Christ, which portrays Jesus as an Indigenous holy man.
Peace must be a priority, say Catholic leaders on anniversary of priests' violent deaths in Mexico
Read full article: Peace must be a priority, say Catholic leaders on anniversary of priests' violent deaths in MexicoTwo years have passed since a leader of one of Mexico’s organized crime gangs stormed into a Catholic church in the remote Tarahumara mountains and fatally shot two Jesuit priests.
Top US bishop worries Catholic border services for migrants might be imperiled by government action
Read full article: Top US bishop worries Catholic border services for migrants might be imperiled by government actionA top U.S. bishop says government officials would be infringing on religious freedom if they were to restrict the Catholic Church’s work serving migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Why US Catholics are planning pilgrimages in communities across the nation
Read full article: Why US Catholics are planning pilgrimages in communities across the nationA long-planned series of Catholic pilgrimages is getting underway across the United States this weekend, with pilgrims embarking on four different routes.
Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba
Read full article: Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist CubaThe 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans.
Why the speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker was embraced at Benedictine College's commencement
Read full article: Why the speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker was embraced at Benedictine College's commencementKansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker may have stirred controversy for his proclamations of conservative politics and Catholicism, but he received a standing ovation at the May 11 commencement ceremony at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
Baltimore to pay $275k in legal fees after trying to block far-right Catholic group's 2021 rally
Read full article: Baltimore to pay $275k in legal fees after trying to block far-right Catholic group's 2021 rallyThe city of Baltimore has agreed to pay $275,000 toward the legal fees of a far-right Catholic media group to settle a lawsuit over the city’s unsuccessful attempt to block a rally in 2021.
The Vatican's problematic process to address clergy sex abuse cases, explained
Read full article: The Vatican's problematic process to address clergy sex abuse cases, explainedFive years ago this week, Pope Francis convened an unprecedented summit of bishops from around the world to impress on them that clergy abuse was a global problem and that they needed to do something about it.
Nicaragua's crackdown on Catholic Church spreads fear among the faithful, there and in exile
Read full article: Nicaragua's crackdown on Catholic Church spreads fear among the faithful, there and in exileNineteen priests kicked out of the country, dozens of incidents of harassment and church desecrations, rural areas lacking worship and social services.
In the US, Black survivors are nearly invisible in the Catholic clergy sexual abuse crisis
Read full article: In the US, Black survivors are nearly invisible in the Catholic clergy sexual abuse crisisBlack survivors have been nearly invisible in the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis — even in Baltimore, home to a historic Black Catholic community.
Rio's iconic Christ statue welcomes Taylor Swift with open arms thanks to Swifties and a priest
Read full article: Rio's iconic Christ statue welcomes Taylor Swift with open arms thanks to Swifties and a priestRio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue was illuminated with a welcome to Brazil message for Taylor Swift.
US Catholic bishops meet; leaders call for unity and peace amid internal strife and global conflict
Read full article: US Catholic bishops meet; leaders call for unity and peace amid internal strife and global conflictCatholic leaders called for peace in a war-torn world and unity amid strife within their own ranks as U.S. bishops gather in Baltimore.
The head of China’s state-backed Catholic church begins historic trip to Hong Kong
Read full article: The head of China’s state-backed Catholic church begins historic trip to Hong KongThe head of the Catholic church in China has begun a trip to Hong Kong at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, marking the first official visit by a Beijing bishop in history.
Nearly 80% of Italians say they are Catholic. But few regularly go to church
Read full article: Nearly 80% of Italians say they are Catholic. But few regularly go to churchIn Italy, centuries-old churches dot the landscape, sanctuaries and processions draw crowds, and nearly 80% of the population profess themselves Catholic.
Women's voices and votes loom large as pope is set to open a Vatican meeting on church's future
Read full article: Women's voices and votes loom large as pope is set to open a Vatican meeting on church's futurePope Francis will open this week a global gathering of Catholic bishops and laypeople to discuss the future of the church.
The Catholic Church defended human rights during Chile’s dictatorship. An archive tells the story
Read full article: The Catholic Church defended human rights during Chile’s dictatorship. An archive tells the storyThe archive of the Vicariate of Solidarity gives an account of a painful episode in Chile’s history: 47,000 instances of human rights violations during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, who took power after a military coup that deposed President Salvador Allende 50 years ago.
Pope says some 'backward' conservatives in US Catholic Church have replaced faith with ideology
Read full article: Pope says some 'backward' conservatives in US Catholic Church have replaced faith with ideologyPope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church.
Civil case over Cardinal Pell abuse allegations allowed to proceed against church in Australia
Read full article: Civil case over Cardinal Pell abuse allegations allowed to proceed against church in AustraliaAn Australian court has allowed a civil case to proceed against a Catholic archdiocese involving child sex abuse allegations against late Cardinal George Pell.
Survivor of abuse by priest asks for grace, comfort as allegations surface at local parishes
Read full article: Survivor of abuse by priest asks for grace, comfort as allegations surface at local parishesTwo priests from separate parishes in the area were removed from duties following allegations of sexual misconduct. A survivor abused by a priest is urging parishes to show grace and comfort to those who have been brave enough to come forward.
Archdiocese of San Antonio removes Comal County priest from duties following sexual misconduct allegations
Read full article: Archdiocese of San Antonio removes Comal County priest from duties following sexual misconduct allegationsThe Archdiocese of San Antonio removed a priest assigned to a Comal County Catholic church from his ministerial duties following allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual grooming of a minor.
One thing the pope won’t be able to ignore in Portugal is a legacy of clergy sex abuse
Read full article: One thing the pope won’t be able to ignore in Portugal is a legacy of clergy sex abusePope Francis is making a five-day visit next week to Portugal, where a scandal that erupted earlier this year over Catholic Church sex abuse is still simmering.
Black nun who founded first African American religious congregation advances closer to sainthood
Read full article: Black nun who founded first African American religious congregation advances closer to sainthoodThe Black Catholic nun who founded the United States’ first African American religious congregation has advanced another step toward sainthood.
Catholic bishops' president calls for better border management, continued care for immigrants
Read full article: Catholic bishops' president calls for better border management, continued care for immigrantsThe leader of the nation’s Catholic bishops weighed in on ongoing immigration issues during their spring meeting in Florida.
Wave of anti-transgender bills in Republican-led states divides US faith leaders
Read full article: Wave of anti-transgender bills in Republican-led states divides US faith leadersAs Republican-governed states across the nation advance numerous bills targeting transgender young people, America’s faith leaders are starkly divided in their assessment.
Mexican artisans create 'Judas' figures for others to burn
Read full article: Mexican artisans create 'Judas' figures for others to burnDuring the “Burning of Judas” celebrations that take place every Holy Saturday in some Mexican neighborhoods, people gather to light fireworks that destroy colorful figures embodying evil.
Poll: Religious service attendance a bit down after pandemic
Read full article: Poll: Religious service attendance a bit down after pandemicA “stable share” of Americans has participated in religious services in some way – virtually or in person – during the coronavirus pandemic, but in-person attendance is slightly lower than it was before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Spain's ombudsman registers 445 church sex abuse complaints
Read full article: Spain's ombudsman registers 445 church sex abuse complaintsSpain’s ombudsman says an independent commission set up a year ago to investigate historic sex abuse by the Catholic church has collected testimonies from 445 victims, as the nation tackles an issue other European countries acted on long ago.
Nicaragua proposes suspending Vatican ties after comments
Read full article: Nicaragua proposes suspending Vatican ties after commentsNicaragua ’s government says it has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis compared President Daniel Ortega’s administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in the country.
Fear, anxiety follow Nicaraguan faith leaders into exile
Read full article: Fear, anxiety follow Nicaraguan faith leaders into exileDozens of priests, nuns, seminarians and church workers have fled Nicaragua in recent years, or been exiled by President Daniel Ortega’s government, which considers them a threat.
Abrahamic House in UAE houses a church, synagogue and mosque
Read full article: Abrahamic House in UAE houses a church, synagogue and mosqueA new complex erected on the shores of the Persian Gulf, in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, houses a Catholic church, a Jewish synagogue and an Islamic mosque.
Sri Lankan court orders ex-leader to pay victims of bombings
Read full article: Sri Lankan court orders ex-leader to pay victims of bombingsSri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that inaction by the country’s former president and four others led to Easter Sunday bomb attacks in 2019 that killed nearly 270 people and ordered them to pay compensation for violating the basic rights of the victims and their families.
German bishops assure Vatican but vow to proceed with reform
Read full article: German bishops assure Vatican but vow to proceed with reformGermany’s Catholic bishops are vowing to continue their controversial reform process after a week of tense meetings with Vatican officials seeking to put the brakes on proposals to ordain women, bless gay unions and rethink church teaching on sexuality.
Vatican opens preliminary abuse probe into French cardinal
Read full article: Vatican opens preliminary abuse probe into French cardinalThe Vatican has decided to launch a preliminary sex abuse investigation into French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, after he admitted to having behaved in a “reprehensible way” with a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago.
French cardinal says he abused 14-year-old girl 35 years ago
Read full article: French cardinal says he abused 14-year-old girl 35 years agoOne of France’s high-ranking prelates of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, says that he had abused a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago and is withdrawing from his religious duties.
Historic Portugal church sex abuse 'truly endemic' at times
Read full article: Historic Portugal church sex abuse 'truly endemic' at timesThe head of a lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church says the problem in the past had been “widespread” and on some occasions reached “truly endemic” proportions.
Vatican shelves assault probe into Canadian cardinal claims
Read full article: Vatican shelves assault probe into Canadian cardinal claimsThe Vatican says a preliminary church investigation into sexual assault allegations by a Canadian woman against a top cardinal has determined the case doesn’t warrant further investigation.
Nicaraguan bishop fasts to protest police harassment
Read full article: Nicaraguan bishop fasts to protest police harassmentA Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua has begun an “indefinite fast” inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day.
Catholic leader blasts Israeli conduct at journalist funeral
Read full article: Catholic leader blasts Israeli conduct at journalist funeralThe top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land says Israel's police attack on mourners during a funeral for an Al Jazeera journalist was a “severe” violation of human rights.
Bishops in Spain ask lawyers to audit their sex abuse record
Read full article: Bishops in Spain ask lawyers to audit their sex abuse recordSpain's Roman Catholic bishops have asked a private law firm to investigate past and present sexual abuse committed by clergy, members of religious orders and others associated with the church.
Sacred statue disappears from Catholic church; congregation prays for its return
Read full article: Sacred statue disappears from Catholic church; congregation prays for its returnThe congregation of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church is praying for the return of a sacred statue they believe was stolen last week.
Benedict woes come as German church reform pressure rises
Read full article: Benedict woes come as German church reform pressure risesA report on decades of sexual abuse in Germany that shone an unflattering spotlight on retired Pope Benedict XVI has come on top of already strong pressure in Germany to reconsider Catholic rules on issues including homosexuality and women’s roles.
2 arrested after allegedly bringing gun into West Side Catholic church during service, Archdiocese says
Read full article: 2 arrested after allegedly bringing gun into West Side Catholic church during service, Archdiocese saysTwo people are in custody after an incident involving a gun inside a West Side Catholic church that caused parishioners to flee the building during morning services, according to the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Rome church condemns swastika-draped casket at funeral
Read full article: Rome church condemns swastika-draped casket at funeralThe Catholic Church in Rome is strongly condemning a funeral procession outside a local church in which the casket was draped in a Nazi flag and mourners gave the fascist salute.
Vivaldi opera gets premiere in Ferrara nearly 300 years late
Read full article: Vivaldi opera gets premiere in Ferrara nearly 300 years lateThe Catholic Church and the northern Italian city of Ferrara are making their peace with Antonio Vivaldi nearly 300 years after the city’s archbishop effectively canceled the staging of one of his operas.
Plans move forward for 2022 pope, Russian patriarch meeting
Read full article: Plans move forward for 2022 pope, Russian patriarch meetingPlans are progressing for a meeting next year between Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church following their historic encounter in Havana in 2016.
Law enforcement, West Side neighborhood take part in block walk to advocate for safety
Read full article: Law enforcement, West Side neighborhood take part in block walk to advocate for safetyThe community surrounding Saint Timothy’s Catholic Church on the West Side organized a block walk to advocate for safety.
Nebraska AG finds 258 victims of Catholic church sex abuse
Read full article: Nebraska AG finds 258 victims of Catholic church sex abuseA Nebraska attorney general’s office investigation has identified 258 victims who made credible allegations of sexual abuse against 57 Catholic church officials in the state going back decades.
French report: 330,000 children victims of church sex abuse
Read full article: French report: 330,000 children victims of church sex abuseVictims of sex abuse within France’s Catholic Church welcome a historic turning point after report released Tuesday revealed that an estimated 330,000 children were sexually abused over the past 70 years.
Vatican won't say if women can vote in 2023 church meeting
Read full article: Vatican won't say if women can vote in 2023 church meetingVatican officials are refusing to say whether women will have a vote when Pope Francis convenes the Catholic hierarchy and experts to the Vatican for a meeting on the Catholic church in 2023.
Karadima, priest defrocked for sexual abuses, dies in Chile
Read full article: Karadima, priest defrocked for sexual abuses, dies in ChileFernando Karadima, a Chilean priest who was at the center of a sexual abuse scandal that shook the Catholic Church in Chile and who was eventually defrocked by the pope, has died.
US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools
Read full article: US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schoolsMore than 150 boarding schools for Indigenous children in the United States were operated by religious groups between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries — and churches are now reckoning with their traumatic legacy.