Everybody knows that same-sex marriage and homosexual acts are contrary to Catholic moral teaching. Yet that same teaching also says that gay and lesbian people must be treated with “respect, sensitivity and compassion.” As more states pass laws legalising same-sex marriage, more gay and lesbian Catholics are entering into these unions. This leaves some Catholics Read more
The word “sin” now makes people think of “sex and cream cakes”, according to one of the architects of Church of England plans that could see the word scrapped from key parts of baptism services. The Church has been accused of “dumbing down” after trialling a new wording for christenings in which parents and godparents Read more
The Vatican felt compelled on Tuesday to deny that Pope Francis had “abolished sin”, after a well-known Italian intellectual wrote that he had effectively done so through his words and gestures. The singular exchange began on Sunday when Eugenio Scalfari, an atheist who writes opinion pieces for the left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper, published an article Read more
Encouraging Catholics to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation could have a payoff in the collection plate, according to British research. The study involving a group of devout Catholics found that when they felt absolved of sins and a sense of guilt they were more likely to give generously. Researchers from Royal Holloway College, London, and Read more
The quest for perfection can never been attained in any endeavor worthy of humans. The demand for being perfect, based on Matthew 5:14, “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” became the deranged and deranging discipline that was brought to an end by Vatican II’s healthier attitude toward spiritual growth. One of Read more
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite wants to do for money what gays and lesbians have done for sex—within the church, that is. Instead of ignoring this unwelcome subject, she wants to bring it out into the open. “Money is still something that we don’t touch. And yet, as I talk in churches so many people are so Read more
Catholics should include sins against the environment when they visit the confessional said the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council on Friday. Father Stephen Alathara, spokesman for the KCBC, said the council had finalized its ecological mission statement, which included the directive about confession, during its annual meeting in Kochi. “Any exploitation of nature amounts to sins against Read more
Priests in Ireland who with-hold information about alleged child abuse, even when told to them in the Sacrament of Confession, will soon be liable for up to five years prison. The new laws are an unprecedented display of tough action against the Catholic Church, in what was traditionally a Catholic country. “The law of the land should Read more