A Catholic bishop in Belfast has expressed dismay over the scheduled opening of the first abortion clinic on the island of Ireland. Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, whose diocese includes Belfast, said he is dismayed that Marie Stopes International was scheduled to open a clinic in Belfast on October 18. “The opening of Read more
Catholic bishops chided US Vice President Joe Biden for saying during last week’s vice-presidential debate that Catholic hospitals and institutions will not be forced to provide contraception coverage to employees. The National Catholic Reporter said the US Conference of Catholic Bishops did not name Biden, but said the “inaccurate” statement “made during the vice presidential Read more
A Canadian bishop urged prelates attending the Synod of Bishops in Rome to address the reality of distrust and disappointment that sex abuse scandals left in the church. Bishop Brian Joseph Dunn of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, told the gathering of Church leaders that with the sex abuse crisis, Catholics have experienced “a great disorientation that Read more
Christians in Karachi stage a protest march over the weekend to condemn the attack on a church. Archbishop Joseph Coutts led the protest which included about 70 priests, nuns and Christian politicians. The marchers carried banners that called for equal rights for Christians in the wake of the attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church on Read more
Pope Benedict XVI has added Arabic to the list of official languages used at his weekly general audiences, launching the effort by offering the promise of his prayers in Arabic on October 10. “The Pope prays for all the people who speak Arabic. God bless you all,” he said in Arabic at the Oct. 10 Read more
Pope Benedict XVI marked the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council on Thursday with a Mass and the re-enactment of the great procession into St. Peter’s Square that launched the council in 1962. A report by the Associated Press said the anniversary comes as the church is fighting what it sees as a wave Read more
Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, told Pope Benedict XVI and the Synod of Bishops that evangelization is not a project, but the natural “overflow” of an experience of Christ and his church that transforms lives, giving them meaning and joy. “Those who know little and care even less about Read more
About 20 percent of the American people say they are unaffiliated with any religion, making them almost as numerous as Catholics, who accounted for 22 percent of participants in a new Pew Research Center study released Oct. 9. The survey of 2,973 adults conducted this summer found people who say they are atheist, agnostic or Read more
At least 63 former Catholic priests in Washington state said they support Referendum 74, which will make Washington the United States’ seventh state to legalize same-sex or gay marriage. “We are uneasy with the aggressive efforts of Catholic bishops to oppose R-74 and want to support the 71 percent of Catholics who support civil marriage Read more
The Catholic Church in the Australian state of Victoria denied claims by police that it deliberately covered up paedophilia and talked victims out of reporting sex abuse. Church spokesman Father Shane Mackinlay said the church knew “bad decisions” were made in the past where accused priests had been given “treatment” and a “fresh start”. But Read more