In the 1960s, the Catholic Church sought to downplay demonic possession, but its views since then have changed.
Representatives from the First Nations Inuit and Metis communities, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, after their meeting with Pope Francis, on April 1, 2022.
AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
A Catholic theologian writes about why papal apologies can be meaningful, even when some may see them as mere words.
Gerald Antoine, Northwest Territories regional chief and Assembly of First Nations lead delegate to Rome, is flanked by Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, left, and Cassidy Caron, Métis National Council president, in St.Peter’s Square in Rome, after their meeting with Pope Francis on April 1.
(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
As a theologian who studies church apologies for historical wrongs, I understand why the Pope was moved to speak this week, but I hope this was not his definitive apology.
Pope Francis presides over a special prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on March 25, 2022, before heading out to Malta for a two-day visit.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File
Malta’s St. George Preca was canonized in 2007. Pope Francis’ visit to Malta renewed attention on Preca’s life and work and how it could provide guidance for the welfare of refugees.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Pope Francis for a private audience at the Vatican in May 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
It is worth considering whether efforts to enlist the church in reconciliation have been helped or hindered by how settlers think about early written records.
Venezuelan priest Arturo Sosa Abascal, second from right, receives congratulations after being chosen as new superior general of the Jesuits in 2016.
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Dorian Llywelyn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The Jesuits are among the Catholic Church’s most influential religious orders but no strangers to controversy.
Bearers carry the relic and the statue in honor of St. Anthony of Padua during a procession in Rome, Italy. St. Anthony of Padua was proclaimed a doctor of the church in 1946.
Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Getty Images Europe via Getty Images
Saints are recognized for exceptional virtue and faith. But some also are commemorated for their scholarship.
Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges the crowd during an audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Oct.24, 2007. A January 2022 report faulted his handling of several sex abuse cases.
AP Photo/Plinio Lepri
A papal apology, if done in ‘a good way,’ could help remove barriers to transforming harmful relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul I, who was pope for about a month before his death, has moved one step closer to sainthood.
AP Photo/Claudio Luffoli
Pope Francis formally opened a two-year process called a “synod on synodality” for the Catholic Church on Oct. 10.
Pope Francis has laid emphasis on protecting the environment, but he’s not the only pope to speak about caring for nature.
AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
Environmentalism may seem like a new mindset, especially in the Church. But care for creation has been woven into Catholicism for centuries.
People pray for the victims of child sex abuse during a special service at a Catholic church outside Paris on Oct. 5, 2021. A new French report estimates that more than 200,000 children were abused by clergy since 1950.
AP Photo/Michel Euler
A French report on the scale of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy is the latest revelation in the crisis, but its roots go back decades – or more. Here are a few of our many related articles.
Pope Francis is presiding over a divided church.
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Pope Benedict XVI expanded the Latin Mass in 2007 in an olive branch to traditionalists. His successor hopes reversing that decision may better serve unity in the church.
When Pope John Paul II was beatified, Zimbabwe’s ruler, Robert Mugabe, was in attendance and given Communion.
Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Biden is not the first public figure to whom the Catholic Church wants to deny Communion. Over the centuries, the Church has often come under criticism for either denying or giving Communion.
Like their ancient ancestors, contemporary Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and consider baptism the most important of their religious rituals.
Hadi Mizban/AP
Mandaeans are followers of ancient Gnostic religion, whose traditional homeland was the region of Iraq and Iran. Today, this small minority lives in many parts of the world, including the US.
The Vatican has warned U.S. bishops not to deny Communion to President Biden.
L'Osservatore Romano/Pool photo via AP
A debate over whether President Biden’s views on abortion disqualify him from taking Communion serves to expose a rift between US bishops and the pope, and is a threat to the church itself.
President Joe Biden’s progressive values jar with the conservatism of some Catholic bishops.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Environment & Sustainability; Holcim (US), Inc. Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan