Pope Francis has called for strong, specific worldwide measures for the Roman Catholic Church to act “with determination” against the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church for more than a decade.
It is one of the first actions on a major issue in Francis’s weeks-old papacy, one that has been marked chiefly by attention to his humble, low-key style.
WASHINGTON (RNS) In nearly two hours of arguments on Wednesday (March 27), the Supreme Court heard many of the expected cases for and against recognizing gay marriage: that refusing to do so is blatant discrimination, that gay marriage is a social experiment that the court should not preempt, that Washington has no role in state marriage laws.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope Francis on Wednesday (March 13), after only two days of voting in the conclave tasked with choosing a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
What started off as a rocky relationship between the Episcopal and Roman Catholic bishops of San Francisco got even worse on October 4 when Episcopal Bishop Marc Andrus said he was denied entrance to the installation mass for the city’s new Roman Catholic archbishop.
c. 2012 Religion News Service CHICAGO (RNS) Mitt Romney may or may not become the first Mormon to move into the White House next year, but a new study shows that Mormonism is moving into more parts of the country than any other religious group, making it the fastest-growing faith in more than half of U.S. states.
When Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams announced suddenly in
mid-March that he will step down at the end of 2012, a short list of
prospective successors swiftly began to circulate.
c. 2011 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS) Christopher Hitchens will be remembered as many things: an acerbic essayist, connoisseur of Scotch and cigarettes and roguish writer whose forceful pen was fueled by an imposing intellect.
c. 2011 Religion News Service
(RNS) 2011 was supposed to be the year the world ended. Twice.
But after evangelist Harold Camping's doomsday predictions failed to materialize, all eyes are now on 2012 when, according to an ancient Mayan calendar, we need to once again prepare for the end of the world as we know it.
The number of religious advocacy groups in the nation's capital has
more than tripled since the 1970s, with conservative groups experiencing
the biggest growth, according to a new report.
An Illinois college affiliated with the United Church of Christ is
poised to become the first school in the U.S. to ask prospective
students about their sexual orientation. Elmhurst College, located west
of Chicago, said an applicant's decision to identify sexual orientation
in the 2012–13 applications is entirely optional and is aimed at
promoting diversity on campus.
(RNS) An Illinois judge has ruled that the state can terminate adoption
and foster care services with Catholic Charities, saying the church-run
agency has no "recognized legal right" to a state contract.
WASHINGTON (RNS) House lawmakers voted Thursday (July 7) to order the
Pentagon to uphold the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that defines
marriage as between one man and one woman.
The nation's leading advocacy group for victims of clergy sexual
abuse is opposing an Oregon Jesuit's bid to serve as House chaplain,
saying he failed to follow up on alleged abuse 25 years ago.
After President Obama announced that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
had been shot dead in Pakistan, ebullient crowds gathered outside the
White House and at Ground Zero to cheer the demise of the world's most
wanted terrorist, smoking cigars and breaking into chest-thumping chants
of "USA! USA!"
In a pre-Easter prayer breakfast at the White House, President Obama
said Jesus' death and resurrection "puts everything else in
perspective." Using the kind of personal religious language he once
shied away from in public, Obama spoke of "the pain and the scorn and
the shame of the cross" at the April 19 gathering for about 150 guests
and staff.
(RNS) The Florida pastor who presided over the recent burning of a Quran
said the United Nations must protect Afghans from deadly riots, even as
he denied responsibility for inspiring them.
U.S. officials praised a United Nations council for a new statement
on religious freedom that sidestepped a divisive debate sponsored by
Islamic countries over the "defamation of religions."
(RNS) Domino's Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan has stepped down from leading
the conservative Catholic university he founded near Naples, Fla., and
named the former director of the White House faith-based office as
president.
