Catholics – News Stories About Catholics - Page 4

Jun 11, 2010 3:58 PM CDT

Iceland Legalizes Gay Marriage

Parliament unanimously approves redefinition of marriage

(Newser) - With little fanfare, Iceland's parliament unanimously passed a resolution legalizing gay marriage today, Reuters reports . The Althingi voted 49-0 to add mention of unions between "man and man" and "woman and woman" to the legal definition of marriage. Iceland's tolerance for homosexuality is well known—PM Johanna Sigurdardottir...

Add Kagan, and High Court Won't Have Any Protestants

Analysis

May 11, 2010 10:11 AM CDT

Add Kagan, and High Court Won't Have Any Protestants

Court rarely reflects country's faith mix well

(Newser) - If Elena Kagan is confirmed, the Supreme Court will have six Catholics, three Jews, and, for the first time in history, not a single Protestant. That might not seem as important as it used to, but Ed Kilgore of FiveThirtyEight decided to take a quick look at the court's historic...

Women Could Save the Catholic Church

PEGGY NOONAN

Apr 16, 2010 8:33 AM CDT

Women Could Save the Catholic Church

Old church needs new blood in charge, writes Peggy Noonan

(Newser) - The Vatican shouldn't be allowed to let this latest round of abuse scandals fade away until some major changes are made, writes Peggy Noonan. The defensive, angry people at the highest levels of the church are too big a part of the problem to fix it, Noonan writes in the...

Pope Hailed as
'Unfailing' Leader
at Easter Mass

Apr 4, 2010 8:29 AM CDT

Pope Hailed as 'Unfailing' Leader at Easter Mass

Pontiff keeps his silence on sex abuse scandals

(Newser) - A senior cardinal defended Pope Benedict XVI from "petty gossip" today, praising his "unfailing" leadership, even as the pontiff maintained his silence on mounting accusations of sex abuse cover-ups during his Easter message. At the end of the two-hour long ceremony, a weary-looking Benedict delivered the papacy's traditional...

Scandal Threatens
John Paul II's Sainthood

Mar 30, 2010 4:27 AM CDT

Scandal Threatens John Paul II's Sainthood

Questions swirl over late Pope's record on abuse

(Newser) - Questions swirled about John Paul II's legacy at a ceremony yesterday marking the 5th anniversary of his death. The inexplicable healing of a young French nun from Parkinson's disease had seemed like the miracle required for his sainthood. But, according to a Polish newspaper, there are now doubts the nun...

Cardinal: Maybe
Celibacy's
Not Such a
Great Idea

Mar 18, 2010 4:05 AM CDT

Cardinal: Maybe Celibacy's Not Such a Great Idea

Vatican 'needs to look into source of sex scandals'

(Newser) - The Catholic church needs to take a long hard look at its celibacy policy in the wake of its seemingly endless sex scandals, an influential cardinal says. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the archbishop of Vienna, wrote in his archdiocese magazine last week that the Vatican should carry out an "unflinching...

Dad May Get
Jail for Taking
Daughter
to Church

Feb 17, 2010 6:00 AM CST

Dad May Get Jail for Taking Daughter to Church

He's under court order to raise tot Jewish

(Newser) - A Chicago man in a child custody battle has been arraigned on criminal contempt charges for taking his toddler daughter to a Catholic Church service. Joseph Reyes, 35, was under a restraining order not to "expose his daughter to any other religion than the Jewish religion." His estranged...

Book: John Paul II
Whipped, Starved
Himself

Jan 26, 2010 1:23 PM CST

Book: John Paul II Whipped, Starved Himself

Pope self-flagellated in pursuit of 'Christian perfection,' says author

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II whipped himself with a belt, even on vacation, slept on the floor, and frequently denied himself food as acts of penitence, says a new book by the Polish prelate spearheading his sainthood case. The book Why He's a Saint also includes previously unpublished speeches and documents,...

Byrne: I Was
Molested at
Seminary

Jan 20, 2010 5:22 AM CST

Byrne: I Was Molested at Seminary

Struggled for years to 'come to terms with it'

(Newser) - Actor Gabriel Byrne revealed yesterday that he was molested by priests as a child at his Irish school and at an English seminary. "Unfortunately, I experienced sexual abuse," said the star of In Treatment and Miller's Crossing. "It was a known fact that there was this particular...

Hey, Fetus People,
Leave Irish Coach Alone

ABORTION: POLITICAL FOOTBALL

Dec 23, 2009 11:33 PM CST

Hey, Fetus People, Leave Irish Coach Alone

It just doesn't matter that Brian Kelly is pro-choice

(Newser) - Unrest in the University of Notre Dame community over the pro-choice views of new football coach Brian Kelly tees up Amanda Marcotte for a screed against what she calls the “Fetus People.” Where sportswriters ask what abortion has to do with college football, the Fetus People “haven’...

Risqué Xmas Ad Sparks Anger

Dec 17, 2009 3:50 AM CST

Risqué Xmas Ad Sparks Anger

Catholics offended by Anglican church billboard

(Newser) - A New Zealand Anglican vicar trying to be funny by putting a sheepish Joseph naked in bed with Mary on a billboard has infuriated Catholics. "Poor Joseph, God was a hard act to follow," reads the ad. The idea "was to lampoon and ridicule the idea of...

RI Bishop Disses
Kennedy Over
Pro-Choice
Stance

NO COMMUNION FOR YOU, MY SON

Nov 22, 2009 8:23 AM CST

RI Bishop Disses Kennedy Over Pro-Choice Stance

Spat over Patrick's position on abortion escalates

(Newser) - Health care reform, the cause of his father's life, has made Rep. Patrick Kennedy persona non grata in his Rhode Island parish—thanks to the furor over publicly funded abortion. As the debate rages, Bishop Thomas Tobin has told the only public servant remaining in America's most famous Catholic family...

Maine Shoots Down
Same-Sex Marriage

UPDATED

Nov 4, 2009 4:45 AM CST

Maine Shoots Down Same-Sex Marriage

Law repealed by 53% of voters with rural, Catholic backing

(Newser) - Maine voters yesterday shot down a state law allowing same-sex marriage after an emotionally charged campaign that drew hordes to the polls. The vote was another indication of a list to the right election night. “It has all come together and the institution of marriage has been preserved,"...

Catholics
Rip Larry for
Whizzing
on Jesus

Oct 30, 2009 4:05 AM CDT

Catholics Rip Larry for Whizzing on Jesus

Urine taken for 'miraculous tears' by Curb characters

(Newser) - The US Catholic League has complained about an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm that shows Larry David accidentally urinating on a painting of Jesus hanging in a bathroom. Other characters then think the painting is miraculously crying. "Was Larry David always this crude?" asked angry league president Bill Donahue....

Houses of Worship
Adapt to Swine Flu

Sep 20, 2009 5:56 PM CDT

Houses of Worship Adapt to Swine Flu

Synagogues, churches, mosques get ready for H1N1

(Newser) - Places of worship across the country are adjusting holy rituals to head off swine flu, CBS News reports. On the Jewish New Year, one Massachusetts synagogue is skipping handshakes and promoting the use of hand sanitizer—and, in a substantial break from tradition, allowing worshipers to not kiss the Torah....

Editor Ripped by
Belusconi Bro
for Gay Affair
Loses Job

Sep 4, 2009 2:23 AM CDT

Editor Ripped by Belusconi Bro for Gay Affair Loses Job

(Newser) - An editor of a Catholic newspaper criticized for a gay affair in a publication owned by the brother of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is out of a job, reports the New York Times. He resigned just days after he slammed the randy head of state in an editorial for...

Kennedy to Pope: Pray for Me

Aug 30, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Kennedy to Pope: Pray for Me

Senator wrote letter delivered by Obama

(Newser) - In the months before he died, Ted Kennedy penned a letter to Pope Benedict beseeching the pontiff's prayers—and enlisted no less a messenger than the leader of the free world to deliver it, reports CNN. “I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me...

US Nuns Dodge
Specter of Sex Abuse

OPINION

Aug 17, 2009 9:11 AM CDT

US Nuns Dodge Specter of Sex Abuse

(Newser) - Last week the largest group of American nuns held its annual meeting, and once again they refused to let survivors of sexual abuse in Catholic schools attend. When even the bishops have acknowledged the depth and seriousness of abuse within the Church, it's strange for the nuns to bury their...

Why Gingrich
Became Catholic

analysis

Aug 16, 2009 5:20 PM CDT

Why Gingrich Became Catholic

(Newser) - Newt Gingrich shrugged off religious issues while in office, and was recently seen reading a novel before Mass—so why his sudden conversion to Catholicism? Some analysts say he converted this spring to position himself for the Republican nomination in 2012. Joining other high-profile conservatives on the road to Rome,...

She's Catholic, Too, You Know

OPINION

Jul 14, 2009 11:02 AM CDT

She's Catholic, Too, You Know

There's zero scrutiny of Sotomayor's religion because she's pro-choice

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor would be the sixth Catholic on the Supreme Court, but that’s getting relatively little attention because of a political double-standard, writes William McGurn of the Wall Street Journal. When Samuel Alito was the nominee du jour, Democrats worried that he’d be the fifth Catholic. But they’...