Tag: Catholic Church

The Obama administration has rejected a broad exemption sought by the Roman Catholic Church for the coverage of contraceptives for Catholic hospitals, colleges and charities.

Human rights lawyers and victims of clergy sexual abuse filed a complaint on Tuesday urging the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate and prosecute Pope Benedict XVI and three top Vatican officials for crimes against humanity for what they described as abetting and covering up the rape and sexual assault of children by priests.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny criticizes the Vatican for its efforts to frustrate the Cloyne inquiry, accusing it of downplaying the rape of children to protect its power and reputation.

Despite recent cases in which Roman Catholic bishops failed to report or suspend priests accused of child sexual abuse, the bishops head into a meeting in Seattle on Wednesday proposing no significant revisions to the abuse prevention policies they passed in 2002 at the height of the scandal.

A look at an iPhone app, approved by the Catholic Church, which acts as your electronic Christian conscience.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has directed its attorneys to file for bankruptcy protection because pending sexual abuse lawsuits have left it with debts it can’t pay.

The Roman Catholic bishop of Phoenix stripped a hospital of its Catholic affiliation Tuesday for performing an abortion last year that doctors said was needed to save the life of the mother.

Watch a meme complex evolve in real time as Catholicism in Haiti mutates and evolves under new selection pressure caused by the catastrophic earthquake of January 2010.

Under pressure from critics, Pope Benedict XVI grudgingly rules that condom use can be justified in some cases to help stop the spread of AIDS, the Vatican’s first exception to a long-held policy banning contraceptives.

American bishops are holding a conference to educate priests and bishops on the techniques of exorcism.

A commission set up to investigate sexual abuse in the Belgian Catholic Church found pervasive abuse involving over 500 victims.

Fending off accusations that it covered up abuse and obstructed justice, the Vatican on Monday spelled out for the first time that it now strongly urges bishops to report abuse cases to civil authorities if required by local law.

A watchdog group has identified about a dozen clergy who have been accused, arrested or sued for abuse and returned to ministry. The process for investigating priests is secret, and often the diocese says nothing about the charges against a priest when it returns him to ministry.

Although this is a short letter to the editor and not an article, the writer does raise an interesting question.

The Roman Catholic Church and the police in Ireland systematically colluded in covering up decades of child sex abuse by priests in Dublin, according to a scathing report released Thursday.

Psychologist Valerie Tarico challenges the moral standing of the Catholic bishops and discusses her abortion.  She asserts that moral decision making is a right and responsibility for each person, independent of religious authorities.

In October 2009, 2,500 people gathered at Westminster Central Hall for the Intelliegence Squared debate - The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world. Speaking for the motion, Archbishop John Onaiyekan and Anne Widdecombe MP. Speaking against the motion, NSS Honorary Associate Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry. (5 YouTube video clips embedded)

After a nearly two-decade truce, Portuguese Nobel literature laureate José Saramago has returned to the charge against the Catholic Church. This time his target is the Bible itself, which he describes as “a manual of bad morals,” and a “catalogue of cruelties and of the worst of human nature.”

Randy Cohen discusses whether it’s ok to criticize the Vatican’s attempts to poach Anglicans who disagree with the Church of England’s acceptance of gay and women priests.  “If a secular institution, Wal-Mart or Microsoft, for example, made a similar offer — Tired of leadership positions being open to women and gay employees? Join us! — it would be slammed for appealing to bigotry.”

Gina Judilla already had three children the first time she tried to terminate a pregnancy.  “I jumped down the stairs, hoping that would cause a miscarriage,” she said. The fetus survived and is now an 8-year-old boy.