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Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity
The Vatican has declared that gender-affirming surgeries and surrogacy are grave violations of human dignity.
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Pope overcomes health concerns to preside over a blustery Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square
Pope Francis has rallied from respiratory problems to lead some 60,000 people in Easter celebrations and make a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square. He then delivered a heartfelt prayer for peace in his annual roundup of global crises,...
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Suburban Catholic school to remain open thanks to anonymous donors
A Catholic school in the Western suburbs is celebrating a big win, as Cicero’s St. Frances of Rome will remain open thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors.
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Catholic school in Cicero to stay open thanks to fundraising efforts
After announcing their upcoming closure in January, St. Frances of Rome in Cicero will be staying open thanks to donations from the Big Shoulders Fund, NBC Chicago’s Regina Waldroup reports.
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Pope calls for universal ban on surrogacy after comparing it to human trafficking
In a speech to his diplomatic core on Monday, Pope Francis compared surrogacy to human trafficking and called for a universal ban on the practice. “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child.”
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Pope Francis denounces the weapons industry as he makes a Christmas appeal for peace in the world
Pope Francis delivered his annual Christmas Day speech from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people in the piazza below.
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Catholic priests can now bless same-sex couples, Vatican announces
The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis had approved Catholic priests to bestow blessings to people in same-sex relationships.
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Sex abuse survivors ask for more information after settlement reached
Survivors are calling for help from the Vatican after a settlement was reached in a sex abuse case brought against a suburban priest. Charlie Wojciechowski has the story.
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Church roof collapses in Mexico, killing at least nine and injuring about 50, officials say
Authorities in Mexico say the roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico during a Mass, killing at least nine people and injuring about 50.
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Thousands of faith leaders could be deported due to green card processing change
Because of a procedural change in how the U.S. government processes some green cards, faith communities across the country may lose thousands of leaders and workers.
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Louisiana grand jury charges 91-year-old disgraced priest with sexual assault of teenage boy in 1975
A Louisiana grand jury has charged a now-91-year-old disgraced priest with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1975.
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Archdiocese of Philadelphia settles child sex abuse case for $3.5 million
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was sexually assaulted by a priest when he was 14 years old.
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For clergy abuse survivors, Sinead O'Connor's controversial Pope protest was brave and prophetic
In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor destroyed a photo of Pope John Paul II on U.S. national television. While the pushback was swift, for survivors of clergy sex abuse O’Connor’s protest was prophetic, forecasting the global denomination’s public reckoning that was still to come.
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The Vatican's new doctrine czar defends book on kissing he wrote as a young priest
Conservative sectors in the church are criticizing the appointment of Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández to lead the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith over his 1995 book “Heal Me with Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing.”
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Ex-Roman Catholic cardinal, now 92, is not competent to stand trial in sex abuse case, expert says
Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts decades ago, an expert for the prosecution says, raising doubts about the future of the criminal case against the 92-year-old. Prosecutors this week disclosed the findings of their expert to the judge, who will ultimately rule…
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Pope Francis to be released from hospital ‘in the coming days' after abdominal surgery, the Vatican says
Pope Francis is expected to be released from the hospital “in the coming days,” as he recovers well and without complications from abdominal surgery last week, the Vatican said Wednesday.
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Michigan Priest Pleads Guilty to Molesting 5-Year-Old Boy After Family Funeral
Vincent DeLorenzo, 84, will likely get a year in jail when he is sentenced in June and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
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Filipinos Nailed to Crosses Despite Church Objection
Eight Filipinos have been nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church. The tradition draws huge crowds of devotees and tourists to the Philippines, an Asian bastion of Christianity. The real-life crucifixions in the rice-growing village of San Pedro Cutud resumed Friday after a three-year pause due...
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Report Details ‘Staggering' Church Sex Abuse in Maryland
More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused more than 600 children over the past 80 years.
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Ash Wednesday: What to Know About the Christian Tradition Marking the Start of Lent
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and its observance lasts for 40 days, excluding Sundays. Here’s what to know about the Christian tradition.