Pope Francis has discouraged homosexual men from entering priesthood. Prior to the 12th century, even celebrated priests could write about same-sex desires and the church paid little attention.
A group of millennials are working to bring Catholic religious practice to American college campuses.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Many young Catholics are moving away from their faith and joining the growing number of the religiously unaffiliated. The missionary group FOCUS is evangelizing on campuses, though there are concerns.
The Vatican will open its archives on Pope Pius XII next year. An expert explains the papacy of Pope Pius XII and the fear of communism confronting much of the Western world at the time.
Margareta, head of the women’s community at Lippoldsberg (in modern-day Germany) clasps hands with an Augustinian monk as he hands her a book.
Lippoldsberg Evangeliary. Kassel, Landesbibliothek, MS theol. 2o 59, f. 73v.
Pope Francis recently confirmed that clergy members abused nuns. Since the early days of monasticism, the presence of nuns led to restrictions that limited contact between men and women.
Pell was found guilty in December on five charges of child sexual assault.
EPA/Angelo Carconi
The Catholic Church has previously expelled perpetrators of child sexual abuse from the priesthood following internal investigations – known as canonical trials.
Following the recent revelations about sex abuse, many Christian communities are facing a crisis of trust.
AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis
In the fourth century, Christian churches in North Africa faced a crisis of trust. A separate church of the Donatists emerged that lasted for centuries.
Ash Wednesday ritual at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 6, 2019.
P Photo/Jim Mone)
George Pell’s conviction has opened a rift in Australian society, with many people questioning the guilty verdict. Pell’s lawyer has said he will appeal. On what grounds could he do that?
St Augustine Catholic Church Archive.
David LaFevor
Catholic Church records document the earliest black history in the US, going back to the 1590s. These records tell the histories of Africans, free and enslaved, who were part of Spanish expeditions.
A recent summit held by Pope Francis on preventing sexual abuse in the church has been criticised for being short on action.
AAP/EPA/Giuseppe Lami
The Catholic survivor movement in the United States was founded by two women: Jeanne Miller and Marilyn Steffel, in the late 1980s. It has taken close to 30 years for the Vatican to take action.
Pope Francis has finally, and for the first time, admitted the Church has a problem with priests sexually abusing nuns.
ANGELO CARCONI/AAP
Twenty-five years ago, an Irish nun handed a report to the Catholic Church that detailed sexual abuse against nuns by priests worldwide. It was ignored. But now nuns are finally sharing their stories.
Pope Francis sits during the traditional greetings to the Roman Curia at the Vatican in December 2018.
Filippo Monteforte/Pool Photo via AP
Pope Francis is meeting bishops for a global summit to discuss sexual abuse by clergy. Such a response, says an expert, is part of a past pattern, unlikely to bring a lasting change.
Tom Stewart fought to bring the sexual abuse that he endured as a Boy Scout to light.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
There is rich Catholic heritage of resistance. Catholic protesters have used powerful religious symbols, including vials of their own blood, as an extension of Christ’s blood, to demand change.
Clergy sex abuse was among the biggest religion stories of 2018. In this photo, a demonstrator holds up a protest sign at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma
For scholars, researching the Catholic Church can mean a laborious process involving several years. And talking to survivors of clergy sex abuse can carry its own pain and personal toll.
The freedom to choose one’s clothes is key to sartorial experimentation. In the late 1920s, the Catholic Register wrote that these swimsuits were indecent.
State Library of Queensland
Meister Eckhart was a 14th-century Dominican friar, who gave sermons on the direct experience of God. His words are finding resonance among today’s spiritual seekers.