Archbishop John Dew discusses meeting Pope Benedict XVI, studying horticulture and whether he wished he had a family. You grew up in Waipukurau. Was it a farm upbringing? My Father had a transport company business, but I spent a lot of time on farms. I had cousins who lived on farms and would visit them during Read more
The Dutch church has pledged to fully cooperate with investigations into reported claims that Catholic institutions castrated boys and young men in their care to rid them of homosexuality, according to the Catholic News Service.
Bert Elbertse, spokesman for the Dutch Catholic bishops’ conference, said the bishops found the reports “shocking and appalling” and that they “condemn and regret such practices in the strongest possible terms.”
“Our church has been badly damaged by accusations of sexual abuse. The fact that people were unsurprised by these latest claims suggests our image couldn’t get any worse,” he said.
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Catholics who are passionate about the family, the life issues and the sexual issues go to one side of the room, and Catholics passionate about the social teachings of the Church to the other. And from their sides they both hurl blame, venom, scorn, and debate who is a true Catholic and who really cares Read more
I realize this comes a little late, but if anybody’s still on the market for something to give up for Lent, I’d suggest that the following misconceptions about the Catholic church and about Christianity in general would be dandy bits of intellectual junk to cut loose in the spirit of the season. Naturally, the venues Read more
American Catholics continue to maintain a moderate to high degree of commitment to the church. As in past surveys, we assessed our respondents’ commitment by combining their responses to three separate questions: “How important is the Catholic church to you personally?”; “Aside from weddings and funerals, how often do you go to Mass?”; and “On Read more
It’s been a year of resurrection for Cuba’s Roman Catholic Church. Last November, it opened a new seminary — the first since Fidel Castro’s communist revolution all but shut down the church 50 years ago. In May, Cuba’s bishops finished brokering the release of 115 political prisoners. Though education is strictly the role of the Read more
At the American Catholic Council an estimated 2,000 reform-minded Catholics stood en masse to endorse a 10-point Catholic Bill of Rights and Responsibilities that asserts primacy of conscience and the right of every Catholic to have a voice in the way the church is run, as well as an obligation to advance the proclamation of Read more