#catholic-church

#catholic-church

It was a cold but sunny day in October 1988, and my friend Barbara knew exactly who was going to be president."My parents are going to vote for Michael Dukakis," she said matter-of-factly as we waited for Mrs. Maglaras, the school secretary, to open the front door of our school to let us in.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul recently released his office's report on child sex abuses cases in the state's six Catholic dioceses.In the wake of the release, Catholics and non-Catholics alike responded.Many responses have involved cries of outrage toward the church and those who hold positions of power within it.

The Illinois attorney general's gut-wrenching 696-page report on Catholic clergy child sex abuse in Illinois is illustrated, incongruously but perhaps necessarily, with aspirational images of the Prairie State: cornfields at sunrise, the shimmering waters of Lake Michigan, sunsets over lakes and barns, gorgeous stained glass windows.

In the 1919 mayoral campaign in Chicago, a young Richard J. Daley signed up as a precinct captain in Chicago's 11th Ward, and he hitched his wagon to the Cook County Democratic Organization, otherwise known as the Chicago machine.The operation was hierarchical - "as rigidly hierarchical as the Catholic Church," Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor write in their definitive Daley biography "American Pharaoh" - and membership came with a moral code involving utter fealty to those above you in the hierarchy, a willingness to reward or repay those faithful to you, an obligation never to question or undermine the party as a whole and to keep your nose out of intermural fights that were not your business.

Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri said on Monday that he would not intervene to stop the execution of Michael Tisius, a 42-year-old who murdered two jail guards in 2000.In a clemency petition sent to Mr. Parson last month, several jurors who had voted to sentence Mr. Tisius to death said they now believe life imprisonment was appropriate.

17 minutes ago17 minutes ago The closure follows Pope Francis calling President Daniel Ortega's socialist government a dictatorship.The Catholic Church has stepped in to shelter opposition supporters from being persecuted by authorities.The Vatican has closed its diplomatic mission in Nicaragua, the Vatican News portal reported Saturday, in a growing row between the Catholic Church and the Central American country.

The Church of England is considering whether to use gender-neutral terms to refer to God, a spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that there are no plans to to abolish or substantially revise the existing liturgy.The church said in an emailed statement that Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female.

VATICAN CITY The unusual nature of Thursday's funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, presided over by his successor, Pope Francis, only heightened curiosity about what course Francis would take to honor Benedict.Would he give his predecessor the simple send-off he had requested, while managing not to offend the church's conservative wing, which wanted much more for their departed standard-bearer?

If you've ventured outside after sunset recently and happened to glance to the west, you may have noticed an astonishingly bright star glaring down on you, seemingly hovering in the sky.Is it a helicopter, a supernova, agaspUFO?Nope.That's Venus, the second rock from the sun, Earth's evil twin and frequent UFO impersonator.

For more than 20 years, Fulgence Kayishema, one of the world's most wanted fugitives of the Rwandan genocide, evaded authorities who say he orchestrated the killing of more than 2,000 Tutsis during the massacre.He remained at large, hiding among refugees in several countries, and masking himself behind various aliases.

OTTAWA An Indigenous group in Canada announced on Wednesday that ground-penetrating radar had located what it said appeared to be the remains of Indigenous children on the grounds of a former school in northwestern Ontario, the latest in a series of similar reports that have been jolting Canada over the last two years.

VATICAN CITY The unusual nature of Thursday's funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, presided over by his successor, Pope Francis, only heightened curiosity about what course Francis would take to honor Benedict.Would he give his predecessor the simple send-off he had requested, while managing not to offend the church's conservative wing, which wanted much more for their departed standard-bearer?

17 minutes ago17 minutes ago Myths and superstitions about HIV and AIDS are causing the disease to spread, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.HIV/AIDS is a viral infection that attacks the immune system, specifically immune cells, which are crucial for fighting off infections and diseases.The virus is primarily transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse or sharing contaminated needles.

Choosing a partner with whom to have children can be a game of genetic roulette, and Sobia Qureshi and her spouse Zahid Bashir didn't fare well.They both have a very rare mutation that causes a fatal disease in infants if both parents have it.Their first two daughters, Zara and Sara, died from this disease.

A German court on Tuesday convicted a Jesuit priest of coercion in connection with a climate protest last year and ordered him to pay a small fine.The district court in Munich handed down its verdict in the case of the Rev. Joerg Alt after he participated in a road blockade in the Bavarian capital on Oct. 28.

Pope Francis on Saturday accepted a resignation request from a German bishop who asked to step down because of his mistakes in handling sexual abuse cases.Franz-Josef Bode, who has been the bishop of Osnabrueck, Germany, since 1995, said in a personal statement that his decision to resign has matured in me in recent months and he hoped it would have a liberating effect on the diocese.

The latest on the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: BERLIN  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is paying tribute to the German-born Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as a formative figure of the Catholic Church.Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, became the first German pope in centuries when he was elected in 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI leaves his homeland with a complicated legacy: pride in a German pontiff but a church deeply divided over the need for reforms in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal in which his own actions of decades ago were faulted.Benedict has long drawn mixed reviews in Germany, a country where Christians are roughly evenly split between Catholics and Protestants and where many struggled with his conservative stance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embarked on a crucial diplomatic mission to Italy and the Vatican Saturday, where he held talks with senior officials in the Italian government and the Roman Catholic Church.Upon his arrival, Zelenskyy tweeted that it was "an important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has embarked on a crucial diplomatic mission to Italy and the Vatican, where he is expected to hold talks with senior officials in the Italian government and the Roman Catholic Church.Upon his arrival, Zelenskyy tweeted that it was "an important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine."

Photos of Pope Francis wearing a stylish, white puffy coat took over the internet last weekend.But, after the initial bewildered reactions over the apparent fashion sense the leader of the Catholic Church had suddenly revealed, internet users were hit with a twist.The images were generated by artificial intelligence.

Maggie Barton's love for All Souls Catholic School extended beyond the walls of her Englewood classroom.The 32-year-old technology teacher coached All Souls' basketball team, helped create the school yearbook, ran lights and sound for school assemblies and musicals, DJed school dances and among her favorite activities played guitar with the choir during Mass.

(Scott Strazzante / San Francisco Chronicle)

Facing hundreds of lawsuits over sexual abuse claims, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland filed for bankruptcy on behalf of the diocese, saying he hopes to "stabilize" the church's finances and provide "just compensation" for victims.

The United Kingdom is the last country in Europe to hold a coronation ceremony for its monarchy.However, other European countries still have monarchies, and practice their own unique ceremonies.There are 12 sovereign monarchies left on the continent, with 10 of them hereditary, and two, Vatican City and Andorra, elective.

Volunteers have raised a wooden cross on a hill overlooking Otley in West Yorkshire to mark the approach of Easter, in a tradition that stretches back more than half a century.They carried the 30ft Chevin Cross to the top of Otley Chevin, as has happened every year since 1969.Howard Chaplain oversees the operation and told the PA news agency: Putting up the cross is easy to organise, we announce it in the local press every year and then people come to help us out.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Britain's earliest known prayer beads will go on display at the refurbished museum at Lindisfarne Priory this weekend.The necklace, dating from between the 8th and 9th century and made from salmon vertebrae, was recently found on a skeleton on Holy Island in Northumberland.

A lack of formal Government apology to unmarried mothers who faced appalling treatment in decades past, including unwanted adoptions, has been labelled disappointing.The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) had called on the Government to issue an apology to women who had their babies taken from them for adoption between 1949 and 1976.

A historic pilgrimage between the Catholic Church, Church of England and the Church of Scotland to South Sudan officially began on Friday as Pope Francis touched down at Juba Airport.On Friday afternoon, a colourful ceremony greeted the pontiff's plane and moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, boarded to greet him.

An open letter signed by Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Andrew Yang, and many others asks that companies like OpenAI (which Musk cofounded) stop releasing new AI models until the risks can be better understood and better managed.But the AI genie's already well out of the bottle and expandingand there may be no pausing that.

Pope Francis waves from the window of the apostolic palace during the weekly Angelus prayer on March 12, 2023 in The Vatican.Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images ROME On a recent Sunday, a group of young American Catholics were among thousands in St. Peter's Square waiting for Pope Francis to deliver his weekly message.

5 minutes ago5 minutes ago Pope Francis said that he did not want "another" Protestant Church in Germany, echoing fears that reforms could split the Catholic Church.Contentious issues include female deacons and blessing same-sex marriages.Pope Francis on Sunday warned German Catholics against implementing reforms while speaking to journalists on his flight back from Bahrain.

Religion NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Christopher White, Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter, about what Pope Francis has achieved in the 10 years he's led the Catholic Church.Copyright 2023 NPR.All rights reserved.Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Benedict XVI, the first pope in seven centuries to resign, has died at the age of 95.ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST: Pope Benedict the XVI, the first pontiff to step down since the 15th century, died today in Vatican City at the age of 95.The German born Joseph Ratzinger was a theologian by training.Before becoming pope, he served for a quarter century as Catholicism's top enforcer of orthodoxy.

LISBON More than 4,800 individuals may have been victims of child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church and 512 people have already come forward to speak out, an expert panel looking into abuse in the church said Monday, after Portuguese church officials had said there were only a handful of cases.

A Catholic school teacher says the local archdiocese fired her after seeing a photo of her kissing her same-sex partner.Maggie Barton wanted to share values from her religious upbringing with future generations, so she became a technology and media teacher at the All Souls Catholic School in Englewood, Colorado.

Deep in the archives of France's national library, an assortment of coded letters listed as Italian texts lay untouched for more than 400 years.But when three code breakers a German pianist, an Israeli computer scientist and a Japanese physicist stumbled upon them, they discovered something remarkable.

Local "As your bishop, I am profoundly sorry for the abuse of minors by priests within this diocese since its founding in 1950."A Roman Catholic Diocese that covers central Massachusetts has published a new report about clergy sexual abuse of minors between 1950 and 2022, but unlike similar reports released by many other dioceses, the report did not include the names of the priests who were found to have committed abuse.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Pope Francis says being homosexual "isn't a crime" and that Catholic bishops should welcome members of the LGBTQ community into the church.LEILA FADEL, HOST: Pope Francis says homosexuality is not a crime.He made the statement in an interview with the Associated Press, adding that legislation that criminalizes same-sex relationships is, quote, "unjust."

Pope Francis attends a Mass for the feast of the Epiphany earlier this month in Vatican City.Christopher Furlong/Getty Images In his first interview since the death of former Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis spoke about his health, his critics and the future of the papacy.He also criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as unjust.

Pope Francis has said that the Catholic church must work to put an end to what he calls "unjust" laws that criminalize homosexuality, which are common in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Pope Francis has said the Catholic Church must work to put an end to laws that criminalize homosexuality.

Sam Smith is a non-binary British singer-songwriter who has crooned many chart-topping albums that earned them multiple accolades since their first album The Lonely Hour.Smith entertained the attendees of a ceremony on the White House South Lawn with a soulful rendition of "Stay With Me."The crowd had gathered to celebrate the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act that protects the rights of same-sex and interracial couples.

The death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the last day of 2022 marked the end of an awkward period in the history of the Holy See - a time when two Popes coexisted.The longer-term effects of the double-headed papacy remain to be seen - along with whether Francis, who was elected when Benedict retired in 2013, can now reign unshackled by the politesse demanded by the august but often inimical presence of his predecessor.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter and have the latest stories from Mission Local delivered directly to your inbox.Read in Spanish / Leer en español The change began with a deal.A month ago, a group of community advocates began offering free "LED energy-saving lights that are easy and safe to install" to businesses in Chinatown.

And Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), who previously led the committee, said: "I don't know who wants it.""It's a good committee - you get frustrated, but you at least get a chance to try," Carter added.He led the border spending panel as the Trump administration made immigration into even more of a political flashpoint, forcing a shutdown over the then-president's insistence on funding for a border wall.

Pope Francis has sparked fury in Russia over an interview in which he suggested that non-Christian members of its armed forces showed more cruelty in Ukraine than ethnic Russian soldiers.In an interview with the Catholic magazine America published Monday, the pope said that soldiers from the Buddhist region of Buryatia and the Muslim-majority Chechnya republic were the cruellest while fighting in Ukraine.

Nicola Sturgeon has paid tribute to Archbishop Mario Conti, the Emeritus Archbishop of Glasgow, saying he will be long and fondly remembered.The First Minister said she was very sad to learn of Archbishop Conti's death on Tuesday evening aged 88, following a short illness.He had been a priest for 64 years and a bishop for 45.

Members of the Dyker Heights community and beyond came together over the weekend to formally mark the 100th anniversary of St. Ephrem Roman Catholic Church - and pay tribute to its lasting impact on the neighborhood.Parisioners, alumni, faculty and more gathered first in the church for a special Sunday mass, followed by a dinner dance at the El Caribe.