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 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.
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.
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.
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
Communion is the central act of Catholic worship. So why are some US bishops trying to stop President Joe Biden – a devout Catholic – from partaking?
Young people at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, cheer Pope Francis in 2015, following his comments endorsing same-sex civil unions.
AP Photo/Aaron Favila
The Vatican has clarified that Pope Francis’ support of civil unions did not change church doctrine. A theologian explains what Francis is doing is departing from Catholic rhetoric on the family.
Pope Francis’ comments on same-sex unions underline his commitment to justice for all.
Buda Mendes/Getty Images
The pontiff hasn’t changed church teaching on marriage in indicating support for same-sex civil unions. Rather, he is reminding Catholics they should be concerned about justice for all.
As Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff in the nuclear era to call for total disarmament, all of us – whether secular or religious – can engage through creative and proactive moral responsibility.
The pope can order religious investigations that can allow the Vatican to swiftly take action.
Giuseppe Lami/Pool Photo via AP
Early Christians were urged to ‘supervise’ one another. In the present times, that theology is often used by the Vatican for a religious investigation a known as the apostolic visitation.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a town hall in Florence, South Carolina. He was denied communion by a priest in South Carolina.
Sarah Blake Morgan
Joe Biden was denied communion for pro-choice views. Catholics with ‘unforgiven’ sins can’t receive communion. A theologian says many Catholics would question if Biden was indeed in a ‘sinful’ state.
Pope Francis at the Monument Mary Queen of Peace, in Port Louis, Mauritius on Sept. 9, 2019.
AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
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.
The Pennsylvania grand jury report may have played a role in helping survivors come to grips with their past.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
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 with a group of nuns in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City, in 2018. History and the Bible provide good reasons why women should be in positions of authority in the Catholic Church.
Ettore Ferrari/EPA/AAP
A recent Vatican commission report on women’s ordination as deacons was inconclusive. But allowing women priests would help the Catholic Church achieve much-needed reform.
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.
Cardinal Pell is the most senior Catholic cleric to be charged with child sex abuse.
AP Photo/Andy Brownbill
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.