On Oct. 31, 1517, a German monk, Martin Luther, started the Protestant Reformation. Its impact went far beyond the split in the Church that most people are familiar with.
Member of the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors hold a protesting outside the Boston archbishop’s residence in 2003.
Jim Bourg/Reuters
While the problem of priestly abuse might be centuries old, its modern paper trail began after World War II, when ‘treatment centers’ appeared for rehabilitating priests. Many were send to New Mexico.
A 2013 photo that shows people holding a quilt for victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
David McNew/Reuters
While many American Catholics believe demons and exorcism to be part of a distant past, an expert explains how beliefs that sexual desires could be part of demonic temptation still persist.
Victims or their family members react to a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation that identified more than 1,000 child victims of clergy sexual abuse.
AP/Matt Rourke
In the wake of new revelations about clergy sex abuse and cover-up in Pennsylvania, civil lawsuits brought by abuse victims may be the only effective way to hold Catholic church officials accountable.
Immaculate Heart College Art Department c. 1955.
Photograph by Fred Swartz. Image courtesy of the Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles.
Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
In the ‘60s, a Roman Catholic religious order, the Immaculate Heart Sisters, created a new vision of a religious community. Meghan Markle, engaged to Prince Harry, attended the high school founded by the nuns.
Pope Francis marks the end of the Jubilee of Mercy by closing the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Tiziana Fabi/pool photo via AP
Mother Teresa will become a saint on Sunday, on the basis of two miracles of healing. But let’s not remove our thinking caps and go all medieval: we should be wary of uncritical endorsement of claims to the miraculous.
Tim Minchin’s latest musical offering, Come Home Cardinal Pell, is provoking strong reactions because of its blunt and direct message to Cardinal George Pell. But in terms of song-craft, it’s a winner.
Pope Francis writes that the church must be a ‘field hospital’ for the souls of the world.
Max Rossi/Reuters
Pope Francis’ new book provides an insight into the theology and life experiences underpinning his unorthodox approach to the papacy. Does his rhetoric conceal Church doctrine as hardline as ever?
Crowds cheer as Pope Francis arrives at Kololo airstrip in Kampala, Uganda.
Reuters/Giuseppe Cacace
Given the conservative stand of the Catholic Church on gays and lesbians, Pope Francis had a wonderful opportunity to extend his message of tolerance to both the religious and social realms.
Pope Francis kisses a baby on his way to his weekly audience in the Vatican.
Stefano Rellandini/Reuters
When they vote October 25 in parliamentary elections, Poles will be taking a dangerous step into the unknown, and the rest of Europe may not be far behind.
Jesuit astronomers with Chinese scholars in the 18th century.
Les cahiers de Science et Vie October 2009
As a Jesuit, Pope Francis is part of a long tradition of religious men of science. Will his leadership influence the Catholic Church’s stance on contemporary scientific issues?