Roman Catholic Church News Archives

Rep. Patrick Kennedy used the language of faith Monday to rally support for expanding the nation's health insurance system in his first public appearance since escalating a public feud with Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop over health care and publicly financed abortion.

The Roman Catholic Church is joining Cuba's booming blogosphere with a new Web site launched Monday that aims to provide a virtual forum for the island's faithful.

In a movement that seems ripped from the pages of Comedy Channel writers, John Marcotte wants to put a measure on the ballot next year to ban divorce in California.

The increase in enrollment in the Twin City Catholic Educational System this year isn't eye-popping. But TCCES president Michael Sullivan isn't complaining about the 2.5 percent hike in students.

One of Ireland's best-loved priests, Father Brian D'Arcy, has called for the resignation of clergy who knowingly covered up for child sex-abuse priests.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - in opposing coverage for abortion in the health care bill - says the Catholic Church believes "legislation that violates this moral principle is not true health care reform and must be amended to reflect it." Share Share Resources HOUSTON BELIEF Faith news, blogs, videos and more The archbishop of the Archdiocese of ...

There has been much attention placed on the Catholic Church by a small group of bishops and individuals because of their support for the cutting of off Communion to politicians who vote for any type of procedures or laws that allow abortion.

THE Vatican on Thursday warned Italy's bishops against letting deserted churches be transformed into nightclubs if the decision was taken to sell the places of worship.

Congressman Patrick Kennedy is set to make his first public appearance since deepening a feud with Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop over abortion.

Pope Benedict XVI is calling for prayers and concrete action to comfort all those who are suffering from AIDS.

First off, I hold no brief for any particular religion. I've attended Anglican services, United Church services, and even some Catholic services.

It took a while, we're talking decades, but finally some American religious leaders say they are fed up.

Roman Catholics throughout New Jersey are being asked to pray that state lawmakers don't allow same-sex marriage.

Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen said on Saturday it was shocking and disturbing that three decades of horrific child abuse was hidden by the Catholic hierarchy in Dublin.

Pope Benedict XVI hailed a 1984 Vatican-mediated friendship agreement between Argentina and Chile as a "luminous example" of peace winning out over war during an audience Saturday with the presidents of both countries.

With the House debate on health care at its hottest, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a stunning ultimatum: Impose an absolute ban on tax funds for abortions, or we call for defeat of the Pelosi bill.

A few days ago I sat next to a fundamentalist Christian at dinner. She asked me at one point what my religion was.

Scores of victims of sexual abuse in Roman Catholic parishes in Dublin contacted counselling services on Thursday after the publication of a report showed archbishops obsessively covered up decades of widespread abuse.

The Garda Commissioner has revealed tonight that officers are examining a sickening report which found paedophile priests were shielded by peers and officials to protect the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Churcha s a dona t ask, dona t tella cover-up culture exposed in a damning clerical abuse report is dead and gone, a senior cleric said today.

Pope Benedict XVI says immigrant children must be fully integrated into their new societies and protected from the risks of exploitation.

The statuette of Prague Infant Jesus whom people from all over the world implore for aid will as from yesterday wear the gilded crown that Pope Benedict XVI donated to it during his September visit to the Czech Republic, Carmelites Prior Petr Sleich has told CTK.

ROME, NOV. 24, 2009 .- Representatives of Catholic women's organizations from 25 countries have informed the secretary-general of the United Nations that they do not support the international body's convention against the discrimination of women.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport has acknowledged in court papers that it documented 32 accusations of sexual abuse of children by priests associated with a parish here over 40 years.

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI will hold talks next week with visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

A report into clerical child sex abuse in the Dublin Catholic Archdiocese is to be published on Thursday detailing decades of cover-ups by church hierarchy.

The leader of the Galveston-Houston Catholic Archdiocese says he opposes any health care reform legislation that allows for even indirect federal funding of abortions.

The report into the handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations by Church and State authorities in Dublina s Catholic archdiocese will be published tomorrow.

More trouble for our area's Catholic schools. Fourteen schools n Maryland and DC are warning they may have to close, consolidate or reorganize.

A Roman Catholic group at the centre of an inquiry into child abuse in Ireland today offered a 161m in cash and land to make amends to its victims.

Same-sex marriage advances in one region, then retreats in another, making the United States a two-nation nation on this issue -- now and for years to come.

The governors of Virginia and Maryland say it would be wrong for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington to quit providing social services if the District of Columbia approves gay marriage.

Talk about getting stuck with the cheap seats. The Pontiac Silverdome, built three decades ago for $56 million, is being virtually given away - sold at auction for a paltry $583,000. That comes out to $7.25 a seat, a fire sale that's reduced the once-proud arena to another sad symbol of the Detroit area's economic collapse.

The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks and representatives of almost 300 alleged victims of clergy abuse have agreed on a settlement of almost $10 million.

A ROMAN Catholic priest who used to teach at an East Lancashire college has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse.

November 24, 2009. Meet Father Cyrill Axelrod. He is one of only 13 deaf-mute priests in the world and he came to Rome for a conference at the Vatican on the deaf-mute community around the word.

November 24, 2009. Hanoi Archbishop has submitted his resignation citing health concerns. But many Catholics in Vietnam believe that the resignation is due to pressure from the Vietnamese government.

U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas is asking a House committee to take up legislation to award the Medal of Honor to a Kansas Army chaplain.

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 22, 2009 .- The world needs authentic beauty, Benedict XVI is affirming, and artists have the responsibility of bringing it to people through their art.

The priest at a predominantly Polish Roman Catholic church in St. Louis at odds with the archdiocese says he's willing to step down if it will help the parish.

The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff.

A new bishop has been appointed to lead a Roman Catholic community in Nova Scotia that was stunned two months ago to learn its previous church leader was facing child-pornography charges.

The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks said it's near a financial settlement with a committee representing almost 300 alleged victims of clergy sex abuse.

POPE John Paul II regularly whipped himself in a sign of 'remorse for his sins', a nun has disclosed.

A Catholic priest has been asked to leave his post over child abuse claims dating back to the mid-1970s. Tags: church Police launched an investigation into the conduct of Fr Paul Symonds when he was working in England, the church authorities said.

Catholic nuns look up at a poster of Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas, not seen, after it was unveiled during her beatification mass at the Church of the Annunciation in the northern Israeli town of Nazareth, Sunday, Nov.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy says Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has barred him from receiving communion because of his support of abortion rights.

Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley is honoring two people for their service in the region's black Roman Catholic community.

The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Catholic education should flourish under the leadership of the laity, a bishop said.

The Pope has appointed a new bishop to a Nova Scotia diocese shaken by allegations that its former religious leader was in possession of child pornography.

Archbishop Rowan Williams and Benedict met privately for 20 minutes in what the Vatican called "cordial discussions," as part of what has clearly been a difficult visit by the Anglican leader.

The Holy See Press Office released the following communique yesterday evening. "This evening in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, His Holiness Benedict XVI received in audience Pierre Nkurunziza, president of the Republic of Burundi.

A group of 145 Roman Catholic, evangelical, and Orthodox Christian leaders will present a document today at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. today saying they are in solidarity against abortions and same-sex marriage.

In this image provided by Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze shows a finger attributed to Galileo Galilei.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 protection last month. Officials had told the judge the church would not make any payments to priests accused of sexual abuse without a court order, even if the abuse had not been substantiated.

American actor Taylor Lautner, American actress Kristen Stewart and British actor Robert Pattinson pose for photographs during the 'Twilight' press conference at Ebisu Garden Place on February 27, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan.

The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Calling the US bishops assembled in Baltimore to a a oetotal lovea for the Church, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to United States of America, reminded the bishops that a oethe first characteristic which the Lord requires of his servant is fidelity.a Continuing to quote from a homily by Pope Benedict, Archbishop Sambi said: He has been ...

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams smiles at the end of his lecture at the Gregorian University in Rome, Thursday, Nov.

A Web site that portrays its mission as "Bringing the light of truth to the darkness of hypocrisy" invites readers to share their stories of sexual trysts, or other accounts of how they know that a priest or other official of the Catholic church is gay--or, if not gay, having a affair despite his vow of celibacy.

By Catholic News Service BALTIMORE - Members of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee overseeing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development reassured their fellow bishops and donors that "no group that opposes Catholic social or moral teaching is eligible for funding" from their domestic anti-poverty campaign.

Baltimore, MD .- On the final day of their annual meeting, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published aA pastoral letter on marriage titled "Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan," which restates and clarifies the Church's teachings to empower those seeking to defend marriage against the cultural currents of cohabitation, ...

Pope John Paul II's cause for beatification-- his first step towards sainthood -- has just gathered speed almost five years after his death.

No, it's not. Only a person who doesn't pay attention to what the Catholic church says or does can come to this conclusion.

WILMINGTON - A Catholic priest accused of abusing a teenage high school student almost 50 years ago was a "suicidal, out-of-control alcoholic" who posed a danger to children and should not have been allowed in the classroom, an attorney for the alleged victim said Monday.

Some anti-gay religious groups claim that gays can be "cured" and turned straight; others acknowledge that homosexuality is an innate trait, rather than a pathology, but still insist that gays are "called by God" to forsake family life and sexual intimacy and live celibate lives.

The new Roman Catholic bishop for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend is going to be busier than originally thought.

Cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have gathered at the Vatican to pave the way further for the beatification of John Paul II. They’re asking Benedict XVI to name him Venerable, the step before beatification. The only thing that’s left is the pope’s signature that will confirm John Paul II lived a Christian virtuous life.

BOSTON -- It was one of those small shocks that come unexpectedly in the wake of a death.

The Catholic Church renounced the myth that gay priests abuse children more than straight priests, while still affirming that marriage should be defined as a union between one man and one woman at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore on Tuesday.

In his remarks before praying the Angelus today, Benedict XVI spoke of the end of the liturgical year, quoting the passage from the Gospel of St.

Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo recently said that the Vatican will officially comment on the supposed apparitions of the Virgin in Medjugorje. It’s a small town of some 5,000 people a few miles from the capital of Bosnia where a supposed apparition of the Virgin was seen by six people in 1981. The current process of investigation is similar to the one that took place for the apparitions in Lourdes and Fatima.

Ever wonder what the world's largest, most comprehensive illustrated Bible is? The answer: The Brick Testament, one man's labour of love to bring the word to life through LEGO building blocks.

Meet Miguel Diaz. The Cuban-American theologian-turned U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See has only been on the job for a little over a month, but after presenting his credentials to the pope he went straight to work.

For one of their own to rise high within the ranks of the Roman Catholic Church, local priests and family of Archbishop Raymond Burke are proud of his success.

The Czech government of Jan Fischer will not solve the issue of the Czech-Vatican treaty as it is beyond the possibilities of the caretaker cabinet's mandate, PM Fischer told reporters after a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone Saturday.

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The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops said Monday that church leaders have a duty to the nation and God to raise moral concerns in the debate over health care, whether the issue is abortion rights or coverage for the poor.

The Lord's Diner gives up on plans to open a second location at 21st and Grove. The diner along with representatives of the Wichita Catholic Diocese made the announcement Saturday afternoon.

November 16, 2009. Benedict XVI: "Hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty".

For weeks, the Catholic Church has asked its U.S. parishioners to work toward ensuring that tough language restricting federal funding of abortion is included in healthcare overhaul legislation.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, who in less than two months will become bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., said that he was surprised to learn that Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the new post.

The leaders of the world's wealthiest nations will be conspicuous by their absence as more than 60 heads of state and government gather in Rome this week for a UN summit on the plight of the planet's billion hungry.

Catholic Poland has joined the Vatican in criticizing a European court ruling against the display of crucifixes in Italian schools.

KOLKATA: For the first time, a cathedral in West Bengal has been co-named after Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, a nun who made Kolkata her home and workplace for 68 years caring for the poor and the infirm, and Mother Mary.

Patriarch Pavle, who led Serbia's Christian Orthodox Church through its post-Communist revival and called for peace and conciliation during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, died Sunday.

E.T. phone Rome. Four hundred years after it locked up Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth was the center of the universe, the Vatican has called in experts to study the possibility of extraterrestrial alien life and its implication for the Catholic Church.

The superintendent of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is stepping down to become assistant chief for the U.S. province of the Society of Mary, the archdiocese announced Friday, Nov.

Malta's bishop announces pope to visit April 17-18 Eds: APNewsNow. VALLETTA, Malta The bishop of Malta says Pope Benedict XVI will visit the tiny Mediterranean island April 17-18 to mark the 1950th anniversary of St.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades from the Diocese of Harrisburg will soon be making a move.

MILWAUKEE- The La Crosse, Wis., bishop has been named the 11th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Pope Benedict XVI.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Sister Catherine Bitzer slowly opened a file box and carefully removed a brittle page, scarred by years of neglectful storage, mold and insects.

Consider this scenario. After months of debate, the national legislature is set to cast a historic vote.

Canada's first openly gay Catholic priest wants another milestone under his robe.

D.C. Council members say there's little room for compromise with the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington over a proposed same-sex marriage law.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago says it found "credible evidence" that a priest on the city's West Side sexually abused a child.

The judge presiding over a Delaware Catholic diocese's bankruptcy is being asked to approve and keep secret the diocese's settlement with an alleged victim of priest sex abuse.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted that the future of the Anglican church is 'chaotic and uncertain' as many more married priests consider converting to Roman Catholicism over the issue of women bishops.

Nov 12 - Tenor Placido Domingo takes on the Vatican for his new album "Amore Infinito," where he sings poems by Pope John Paul II.

Just days after the country had buried Ted Kennedy, Cardinal Sean Oa Malley took to his blog to defend himself from critics attacking him for presiding over the funeral of a pro-choice senator.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington D.C. has told the D.C. Council that if they are forced to recognize same-sex married couples they will have no other choice but to discontinue all social service programs in D.C. related to adoption, homelessness, health care and other areas.

A Roman Catholic bishop says South Bend St. Joseph's High School can move to a new home if supporters succeed in raising $35 million by June 2011.

Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 4:09 a.m. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island was to meet Thursday with Thomas J. Tobin, the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence, and perhaps start healing a bitter rift over whether health care legislation now before Congress should ...

An 81-year-old Catholic priest living in northern Indiana faces possible extradition to Ireland on charges that he raped a teenage boy in 1968.

Some of the oldest records from European settlers have come home to the oldest permanent city in what is now the United States.

Catholic bishops have emerged as a formidable force in the health care overhaul fight, using their clout with millions of Catholics and working behind the scenes in Congress to get strong abortion restrictions into the House bill.

Pope Benedict XVI sits during his visit to Patriarch Theophilos III at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on May 15, 2009 in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel.

Linden MacIntyre celebrates winning the Giller Prize for his novel The Bishop's Man on Tuesday in Toronto.

An album featuring for the first time the voice of Pope Benedict XVI was to be launched on Tuesday by a record label that counts among its artists the rapper Snoop Dogg and The Eagles.

Federal police storm a Mass to capture a suspected drug kingpin. Priests pray with the families of murdered men, then face killers in the confessional.

In this Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009, file photo, Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi looks on near a portrait of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, part of the "Galilei Divin Uomo" exhibit, in the Santa Maria degli Angeli Basilica in Rome.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Public Health Article Date: 09 Nov 2009 - 1:00 PST A debate over whether the late Sen.

Even as they agreed to postpone a planned face-to-face meeting that had been set for Thursday, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin turned up the heat Monday on U.S. Rep.

An analysis of fundraising reports indicates Roman Catholic dioceses and even individual priests from around the country donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the anti-marriage campaign that successfully overturned Maine's law that had allowed same-sex couples to tie the knot.

The Rev. Warren Harvey, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pine Bluff, stands next to the headstone of Sister Agnes Hart, whom Harvey believes could be considered for sainthood.

Pope Benedict has paid tribute to Paul VI, the pope who made him a cardinal. Thousands turned out in a chilly rain for Benedict's Mass in Paul VI Square outside the cathedral in Brescia , Italy.

A US Roman Catholic deacon has spoken of how the agonising pain he had suffered from a spinal disorder disappeared after praying to the revered English Cardinal John Henry Newman.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has amended its plan to merge five parishes in Northampton.

The Vatican has confirmed that opening its door to married Anglican priests doesn't mean the Roman Catholic church's requirement for celibacy for clergy is changing.

Twenty years ago on Nov. 9, a captive people of a divided continent literally with their hands dismantled the Berlin Wall.

A court hearing is planned to determine when to release documents generated for sexual abuse lawsuits against priests in a Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut.

From London, England : Nov 6, 2009 / 12:24 am .- Members of The Traditional Anglican Church in Great Britain have announced that they will enter into communion with the Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans.

Roman Catholics in northern Nova Scotia watched with shock and sadness on Thursday the television images of their once respected bishop surrendering to police in Ottawa.

Pope Benedict XVI made a one-day pilgrimage Sunday to northern Italy to pay tribute to Paul VI, his predecessor who made him a cardinal.

By Catholic News Service ARLINGTON, Va. - As Virginia prepared to execute convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad, Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington called for mercy and urged that Muhammad's sentence be commuted to life in prison without possibility of parole.

By Catholic News Service ESZTERGOM, Hungary - Hungarian Bishop Zoltan Meszlenyi, who froze to death in a Hungarian prison in 1951, has been beatified as a martyr for the faith.

GALLUP, N.M. - A slain Catholic nun who lived and worked on the Navajo Indian reservation of western New Mexico was remembered for her passion for the poor at funeral services.

I just can't keep it in. I know I shouldn't boast but, well, as a Roman Catholic I simply have to.

Vicar-turned-author Rev G P Taylor says he will desert the "sinking ship" Church of England, which he said was the "spiritual arm of New Labour", for Roman Catholicism.

Unlike his predecessor, recently installed New York archbishop Timothy Dolan was expected to use his proximity to the nation's most powerful media outlets to raise the Roman Catholic Church's public profile.

A senior Vatican official said Friday he has asked Cuba's government to allow the Roman Catholic Church more access to mass media, saying Cubans are a religious people and should be given broadcast access to their pastors.

Share + Comments Nov 6, 2009 12:55 pm US/Pacific 1 of 1 The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights says the city's Board of Supervisors was intervening in church affairs when it passed the nonbinding resolution in 2006.

A children's home abuse victim who is eligible for part of a 8m compensation payout today insisted that 'it was never about the money'. Rape victim Graham Baverstock spoke out after a judge ruled that the Roman Catholic Middlesbrough Diocese was responsible for running an East Riding children's home where 142 boys were abused.

November 6, 2009. Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, memories of the historic event are up at the Museum of Rome in Trastevere.

November 6, 2009. Experts from 14 countries and more than 1,000 people from five continents will participate in the congress. On November 7, the city of Zaragosa will light up four kilometers of candles in memory of those who were never born.

November 6, 2009. Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, memories of the historic event are up at the Museum of Rome in Trastevere.

The judge handling the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's bankruptcy case dispensed with several contentious issues Monday and said he would be very reluctant to allow pending civil lawsuits to go forward against the diocese while it is trying to reorganize.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Maine is thanking the state's voters for repealing the state's gay marriage law.

By Mark Pattison Source: Published: Thursday, November 05, 2009 Miriam Conners and her son Spencer of Stand for Marriage Maine canvass in Yarmouth, Maine.

A third woman has filed a paternity claim against Paraguay's Roman Catholic bishop-turned- president, her lawyer confirmed Thursday.

At his weekly public audience on November 4, Pope Benedict XVI used the debate between St.

November 5, 2009. The Vatican has released the official guest list for this years conference with artists. The guests includes architect Daniel Libeskind who designed the Freedom Tower at the former World Trade Center in New York, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava along with Grammy nominated singer Andrea Bocelli, Brazilian Pianist Alvaro Siviero and film score composer Ennio Morricone.

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican defended its review of U.S. women's religious orders on Tuesday amid criticism from the sisters that the process is secretive and amounts to a crackdown.

Federal officials began the process of choosing creditor representatives in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's Chapter 11 bankruptcy by meeting with diocesan officials behind closed doors Wednesday.

A worker for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque has been charged with theft for stealing money from a program designed to defray the tuition costs of Catholic school students.

At Saint Mary the Virgin Catholic Church, the 75-year-old priest is married, members sing from an Episcopalian hymnal and parishioners kneel at the altar to receive Communion.

An unprecedented gathering of Ohio Roman Catholic priests this week will focus on an institution of marriage that the church believes is under attack.

A judge has put off the case of a Roman Catholic bishop facing child-pornography charges.

Catholic Central Elementary School will close at the end of this school year as part of ACES Xavier Educational System's plans to consolidate its four elementary campuses into three.

Maureen Dowd does not make this man smile. But baseball does! Last Sunday, Times columnist Maureen Dowd blithely unleashed one of her smugly scathing criticisms against the Catholic Church for what she and many other critics perceive as their mistreatment of women, particularly nuns.

Church attorney Greg Arpin said they are all accusations by adults who contend they were sexually abused by clergy years ago.

The Vatican defended its review of U.S. women's religious orders on Tuesday amid criticism from the sisters that the process is secretive and amounts to a crackdown.

November 3, 2009. Like he does every November, the pope visited the Vatican crypt to pray at the tombs of some of his predecessors who are buried there.

Europe's court of human rights said Tuesday the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms, prompting an angry reaction from the Catholic Church and government officials in Rome.

Washington D.C., Nov 1, 2009 / 03:10 am .- A Washington, D.C. City Council proposal to recognize same-sex 'marriage' would redefine marriage and could force Catholic educational and charitable institutions to close or face lawsuits, burdensome regulation and the compromising of their faith, the Archdiocese of Washington has warned.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, retired archbishop of Westminster, said a forthcoming apostolic constitution to establish "personal ordinariates" should not be seen as an attempt by the Vatican to poach Anglicans disaffected by such issues as the ordination of women and sexually active homosexuals as priests and bishops.

The Catholic Diocese in Phoenix says that, so far, the H1N1 virus hasn't forced any churches to change their ceremonies.

The judge presiding over the bankruptcy case of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington denied a request from attorneys for alleged victims of priest sex abuse to order the bishop to appear at a meeting of creditors.

The Supreme Court on Monday turned away another appeal to stop the release of documents generated for sexual abuse lawsuits against priests in a Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut.

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 29, 2009 .- Benedict XVI is encouraging media professionals to take up the challenge to use the new technologies of the digital age to spread the word of God, while keeping the content unaltered.

Pope Benedict XVI called on Iran on Thursday to grant Christians "the freedom to practice their faith" and Catholics "the essential conditions" to survive in the Islamic republic.

The newly ordained Rev. Fernando Jimenez will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday at his home parish, St.

The head of the Roman Catholic church in Boston has recognized hundreds of altar servers in the archdiocese at a special Mass.

Protesters tried to stop the closing of a Roman Catholic church in Akron celebrating its last mass as part of a diocesan restructuring.

PORTLAND, Maine a ' Maine Catholic churches are taking steps this weekend to prevent the spread of swine flu.

Bishop Richard Lennon implored a group sitting vigil inside St. John the Baptist to leave the church.