Apr 19 New Jersey Catholic diocese agrees to $87.5 million deal to settle sex abuse suits By Mike Catalini, Associated Press A Catholic diocese in New Jersey has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States. Continue reading
Feb 17 The Vatican trial exposes the Holy See’s inner workings as a new spy story takes center stage By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press The Vatican’s big fraud and extortion trial is exposing some unseemly realities of how the Holy See operates. Continue reading
Feb 15 How Galileo’s groundbreaking works got banned By Dr. Howard Markel Born on this day 458 years ago, Galileo refused to be silent about how the solar system worked. Continue reading
Feb 08 Pope Benedict XVI denies wrongdoing after clergy sex abuse report, but expresses ‘profound shame’ By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Retired Pope Benedict XVI is asking forgiveness for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases. Continue reading
Jan 20 Pope Benedict XVI implicated in report on sexual abuse in German diocese By Geir Moulson, Associated Press A long-awaited report on sexual abuse in Germany's Munich diocese has faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI's handling of cases when he was archbishop in the 1970s and 1980s. Continue reading
Oct 05 330,000 children victims of church sex abuse, French report finds By Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press An estimated 330,000 children were victims of sex abuse within France’s Catholic Church over the past 70 years, according to a report released Tuesday that represents the country's first major accounting of the worldwide phenomenon. Continue reading
Sep 07 Vatican won’t say if women can vote in 2023 church meeting By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press For years, women activists and even nuns have pressed to be able to vote at Synod of Bishops meetings, which gather the Catholic hierarchy to Rome to discuss pressing issues facing the 1.3-billion strong Catholic Church. Continue reading
Sep 03 Ex-Cardinal McCarrick, 91, pleads not guilty in sex assault By Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press An activist says former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's court appearance in a sex abuse case marks a new phase in the global struggle to hold clerics accountable. Continue reading
Jul 04 Pope Francis in hospital for scheduled intestinal surgery By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Sunday for scheduled surgery on his large intestine, the Vatican said. The news came just three hours after Francis had cheerfully greeted the public in St. Peter’s Square and told them he… Continue reading
Jul 02 Trudeau denounces church burnings, vandalism in Canada By Jim Morris, Associated Press Several Catholic churches have recently been vandalized or damaged in fires following the discovery of more than 1,100 unmarked graves at the sites of three former residential schools run by the church in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Continue reading