On February 15, more than 1,000 mourners — predominantly LGBTQIA+ people of colour — gathered for the funeral of Argentine American activist Cecilia Gentili at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Gentili was a transgender woman of colour who advocated for the health and dignity of sex workers and LGBTQIA+ people. She was also Read more
A major victory for religious liberty has followed a federal court case. The victory occurred in the decision in Soos v. Cuomo. Federal district Judge Gary L. Sharpe has removed religious gatherings from the virtual ghetto in which Governor Cuomo, his Attorney General and New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio had placed them under Cuomo’s Read more
Donald Trump says he will remove the decades-old ban on “politicking” by tax-exempt organisations like churches if he becomes US president. Speaking to a Christian audience in New York on Tuesday, Mr Trump also promised, if elected president, to appoint anti-abortion Supreme Court judges. In the 1960s, US President Lyndon Johnson established a ban on Read more
When Pope Francis makes his first trip to the United States this month, he will act on a grand stage much as previous popes have done. There will be a private meeting with the president and public Masses in Washington, D.C.; New York; and Philadelphia. He will address the United Nations. Two aspects of his Read more
The cause for beatification of American evangelist Archbishop Fulton Sheen has been suspended indefinitely because of a spat between two US dioceses. In a September 3 communiqué, the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen was born, announced that the cause was suspended “for the foreseeable future” and would be assigned to a Vatican archive. This Read more
New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan has not objected to a gay group being allowed to march under its own banner in the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade next year. Cardinal Dolan, who is archbishop of New York, is also the grand marshal for the parade on March 17. The parade committee chose OUT@NBCUniversal -a lesbian, Read more
Do you recall The Great Jubilee Year 2000? For a few years before the turn of the century, almost every statement by a bishop or other church leader or organization contained some paean to the jubilee. The pope had called for it, and so all sorts of people either sincerely or for show acted as Read more
Two of the 117 cardinals to elect the new pope, both who live outside Rome are in no rush for the Conclave to be convened. New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George have both expressed a little concern about the bringing the conclave forward. Cardinal George told reporters, Sunday after celebrating Mass, Read more
A nun with a gambling addiction is facing criminal grand larceny charges for embezzling funds from two parishes in upstate New York. She reportedly stole $NZ155,000 and spent it at casinos while working as a pastoral associate. Continue reading