A study into the changing face of US Catholic parishes reveals the average number of registered parishioners in American parishes has grown 45% in the last 10 years. As well as getting bigger, the study found that parishes are getting more complex, more diverse and more than half of all parish staff are women. The study Read more
As part of President Obama’s healthcare overhaul, come August 2012, all American private insurers must provide women with coverage for FDA-approved contraception – including sterilisation and “emergency” contraceptives that have an abortifacient effect. The plan also covers breast pumps for nursing mothers, an annual “well woman” physical, counseling on how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases Read more
Fifty-six percent of Americans want a religious President in office according to a poll released by the Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service. The poll also revealed that although most Americans want a president with strong religious beliefs, only 40% were able to identify the religious beliefs of the current leading candidates. 20% Read more
Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, said he believed the church’s reaction to the sex scandal was rigorous and strong and he wants to see “zero tolerance for wayward priests”. In a interview on CBS, Dolan said the acts themselves and the decades-long cover-up are hard for him to bear or understand. “In some ways, Read more