Pope Francis recently completed a tour of three African nations. His visit needs to be understood in the context of the church's long history in Africa and its modern-day difficulties.
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Articles on Pope Francis
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Last year, Pennsylvania’s grand jury report uncovered sexual abuse allegations by over 300 priests. A scholar explains how the report may have helped survivors come to terms with a painful past.
Pope Francis is trying to address gaps in the regulatory processes of the Catholic Church. But clergy can still decide whether, and to what degree, to share information.
Suicide bombers struck Sri Lanka's churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, killing and injuring hundreds of people. Seven percent of Sri Lanka's population is Christian – most of them Roman Catholics.
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.
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.
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.
While Pope Francis has publicly acknowledged sexual abuse by clergy, the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church still makes it difficult to report and address cases of abuse.
Australian Catholics are drifting from the church, and research shows sexual abuse scandals are a main reason why.
In the Catholic understanding, priesthood is not simply a job that a someone can be fired from. Ordination is a deeply spiritual ceremony that is believed to transfer the power of the Holy Spirit.
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.
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 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.
At times we just don't know what's the right thing to do. St. Ignatius, who founded the Society of Jesus, developed a method of discernment that can be useful even to those who are not religious.
Sex abuse by Catholic priests may be as devastating in many cases as sex abuse by a family member because of institutional betrayal, two trauma psychologists write. It calls for special measures.
The history of how the Catholic Church has viewed the words of popes.
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.
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.
Some careful reasoning shows that comparing abortion with contract murder equates two acts that are far from obviously morally equivalent.
Top contributors
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Mathew Schmalz is a Friend of The Conversation.Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
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Holcim (US) Professor at the Ross School of Business and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
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Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University, Villanova University
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Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
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PhD Candidate, Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies, University of Bath
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Instructor and Associate Director, Case Western Reserve University
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Professor of Theology, Australian Catholic University
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Associate Professor, Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide
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Director of the Yarra Institute for Religion and Social Policy, University of Divinity
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Director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Religion, Society and Human Flourishing, University of Roehampton
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Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle
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Visiting Professor of Film, Brown University
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Lecturer in Religion and Peacebuilding, University of Liverpool
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Religion and Society Professor, Universidad de Buenos Aires
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Professor of History and Gender Studies, Boise State University
