Catholic church

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell of Australia has been charged by police in the state of Victoria with sexual assault.

Australian Police Bring Sexual Assault Charges Against Catholic Cardinal

11:43pm June 28, 2017

by Barbara Campbell

Cardinal George Pell, a key adviser to Pope Francis, has been ordered to appear in a Melbourne court next month. The Archdiocese of Sydney says he will return from Rome to fight the charges.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Ill., has barred priests from performing sacraments for people in same-sex marriages. Above, Paprocki testifies against an Illinois same-sex marriage bill in 2013.

Illinois Bishop Decrees No Communion, Funeral Rites For Same-Sex Spouses

7:36pm June 23, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

Bishop Thomas Paprocki is telling priests in his diocese not to offer sacraments to people in same-sex marriages. A Catholic LGBT group calls the decree "mean-spirited and unchristian in the extreme."

A volunteer brings daily food rations for people who fled the conflict in the Kasai region earlier this month. They are at a camp for internally displaced persons in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo.

World News

Report: More Than 3,000 Killed In Violence In Central Congo

6:24pm June 20, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

The violence in the Kasai region erupted last August when the military killed a local chief. The Catholic Church reported the death toll, and the U.N. says the situation there has grown more complex.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Air Defense Stadium in Cairo.(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

Pope Francis Winds Up Trip To Egypt

11:43am April 29, 2017

by Jim Kane

Military helicopters flew overhead as the Pope celebrated Mass for some 15 thousand Catholics in a stadium.

Amy Clayton teaches a fifth-grade history class at St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville, Md. The school, which almost closed eight years ago, has experienced growth over the past few years, largely due to an influx of Catholic families who were drawn to Hyat

Catholics Build 'Intentional' Community of Like-Minded Believers

4:28pm April 10, 2017

by Tom Gjelten

Nationally, Americans are growing disenchanted with traditional religion. But in a Maryland suburb, Catholics seeking more spiritual lives are banding together with others who share their values.

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Pope Benedict XVI apologized in 2008 to victims of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergy at a mass in Sydney at St. Mary's Cathedral.

Australian Catholic Church Alleges 7% Of Priests Sexually Abused Kids Over Decades

4:47pm February 06, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

"These numbers are shocking, they are tragic and they are indefensible," says a church representative. More than 4,400 people reported allegations of abuse at more than 1,000 different institutions.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, shown at a news conference at Davao's international airport on Dec. 17, says family planning is critical for reducing poverty.

In Majority Catholic Philippines, Duterte Orders Better Access To Birth Control

11:49am January 12, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

A law in the Philippines mandates universal access to contraception, but the Supreme Court and the Catholic Church have fought its implementation. President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing back.

For Gabriel Otero, the Catholic Mission San Xavier del Bac in Tucson, Ariz., is a sacred place. Indigenous people, Latinos and people of European ancestry all worship there.

In Tucson, Ariz., Cultures Combine At 300-Year-Old Catholic Mission

5:31pm January 11, 2017

by NPR Staff

There's a place in Tucson, Ariz., where many cultures combine. The Catholic Mission San Xavier del Bac is over 300 years old, and white and Latino Catholics as well as two native tribes call it home.

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Pope Francis speaks to Vatican employees on Thursday.

Pope Francis Outlines More Reforms, And Addresses Powerful Church Critics

4:37pm December 22, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

In his Christmas address to Vatican employees, the leader of the Catholic Church called for more laypersons and women in positions of power and said resistance to change came from misguided minds.

Pope Francis closes the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday in Vatican City, marking the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Religion

Pope Francis Grants All Priests The Authority To Absolve Abortions

11:04am November 21, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The Vatican has long considered abortion such a grave sin that only bishops can grant absolution. The pope changed that temporarily in 2015; now he's extended the change indefinitely.