Catholic church

National

Archdiocese of Los Angeles agrees to pay $880 million to settle sexual abuse claims

12:03am October 17, 2024

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse in what an attorney said was the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese.

A teen tech whiz nicknamed 'God's influencer' will become the first millennial saint

11:08am July 01, 2024

by Rachel Treisman

Carlo Acutis, who died at 15 in 2006, has long been called the "patron saint of the internet." After many years, two miracles and Vatican approval, he's officially set to be canonized, likely in 2025.

Alice Kitchen, 81, canvasses for signatures at a Costco parking lot in Kansas City, Mo. She and other abortion rights advocates are trying to collect 172,000 valid signatures by May 5 to ensure a statewide ballot measure in November on whether to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri's constitution.

For many Missouri Catholics, abortion rights means choosing between faith, politics

5:01am May 01, 2024

by Katia Riddle

The state is shaping up to be big battleground over abortion rights in November. Research shows a majority of U.S. Catholics supports abortion rights — even though church leadership does not.

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Pope Francis remains popular among U.S. Catholics, with 75% having favorable views of him, according to a Pew Research report. But many self-identified Catholics disagree with various teachings of their church.

6 in 10 U.S. Catholics are in favor of abortion rights, Pew Research report finds

1:13pm April 12, 2024

by Jason DeRose

Although the Catholic Church officially opposes abortion, the report says there's far greater diversity of opinion among laity in the U.S.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu attends a consistory inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on Aug. 27, 2022.

A cardinal is convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in Vatican trial

11:55am December 16, 2023

by The Associated Press

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first cardinal ever prosecuted by the Vatican criminal court, was convicted in a complicated financial trial that aired the Vatican's dirty laundry.

Children in traditional dress welcome Pope Francis arriving for a meeting with charity workers and for the inauguration of the House of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.

World News

Francis opens a homeless clinic on the 1st papal visit to Mongolia

1:54am September 04, 2023

by The Associated Press

Several of the foreign-staffed Catholic religious orders in Mongolia run shelters, orphanages and nursing homes to care for a population of 3.3 million where one in three people lives in poverty.

The Catholic Church profited from slavery — 'The 272' explains how

1:27pm June 13, 2023

by Terry Gross

"You don't hear about enslaved people at Mass or in Sunday school," says Rachel Swarns. Her new book tells the story of 272 enslaved people sold in 1838 to help save what is now Georgetown University.

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Pope Francis leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Wednesday.

In a historic shift, Pope Francis allows women to vote at bishops' meetings

1:18pm April 26, 2023

by The Associated Press

Catholic women's groups that have long criticized the Vatican for treating women as second-class citizens immediately praised the move as historic in the 2,000-year life of the church.

Hooded Filipino penitents carry pointed bamboo sticks as part of Maundy Thursday rituals to atone for sins or fulfill vows for an answered prayer on April 6, 2023 at Mandaluyong city, Philippines.

World News

Live Easter reenactments resume in the Philippines despite Catholic Church objections

5:31am April 07, 2023

by The Associated Press

The real-life reenactments in the farming village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province north of Manila resumed after a three-year pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Maryland Attorney General's Office publicly released a redacted version of an investigative report detailing sex abuse allegations against more than 150 Catholic priests and examining the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response.

Maryland attorney general releases report on decades of sex abuse by Catholic priests

2:00pm April 05, 2023

by The Associated Press

The redacted report paints a damning picture of abuse allegations against nearly 160 priests, involving more than 600 victims and spanning 80 years, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response.