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Tag: Catholicism

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Roman Catholic church could allow married men to become priests

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Vatican summit to discuss plan to address clergy shortage in remote Amazon areas The Roman Catholic church is opening the door to a change in its centuries-old requirement that priests must be celibate in a document suggesting older married men may be ordained in remote areas of the Amazon. A Vatican document has called on the church to consider the far-reaching move as a way to overcome the shortage of clergy in the region. Although the proposals to be considered by the Vatican concern the ordination of married men in…

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Pope Francis declares ‘climate emergency’ and urges action

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Addressing energy leaders, pope warns of catastrophic effects of global heating Pope Francis has declared a global climate emergency, warning of the dangers of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of catastrophic effects if we crossed such a threshold. He said a radical energy transition would be needed to stay within that limit, and urged young people and businesses to take a leading role. Future generations stand to inherit a greatly spoiled world. Our children and grandchildren should not have to pay the cost of our generations irresponsibility, he said, in…

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We watched Notre Dame burn. Can we recapture her spirit?

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Paris residents looked on in horror as their beloved lady went up in flames. Now a new battle begins: how best to rebuild her for the centuries ahead Most of us will always remember the moment on 15 April when we heard that rebuild Notre Dame has started and promises to be fierce. The embers seem still warm, but my unruly and angry compatriots are already dividing us into the daring and the timid, those who want to add a touch of 21st-century genius to her, and those who just…

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Salvadoran priest Oscar Romero to be declared saint by Pope Francis

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The canonisation of the assassinated archbishop will take place on Sunday in Rome Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest who championed social justice for the poor and dispossessed, will be proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in a canonisation ceremony in Rome on Sunday, almost four decades after he was assassinated by a rightwing death squad. The former archbishop of San Salvador, who was closely associated with the Latin American liberation theology movement of the 1960s and 70s, will be canonised along with six others at the ceremony in St Peters…

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New York to investigate child sexual abuse claims in Catholic dioceses

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All eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state have been subpoenaed as part of the attorney generals investigation into the churchs handling of sex abuse allegations The New York attorney generals office is set to investigate claims of child sex abuse within the states dioceses of the Catholic church. Attorney general Barbara Underwood announced Thursday that her office has created a hotline for victims to use. All eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state have been subpoenaed as part of her offices investigation into the churchs handling of sex abuse…

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US cardinal accused of concealing abuse pulls out of Dublin event

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Donald Wuerl was to speak at World Meeting of Families, which pope is attending A US cardinal has pulled out of a keynote speech at the World Meeting of Families, a global event being hosted by the Roman Catholic church in Dublin, after he was criticised for his handling of child sexual abuse in a damning report. Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, concealed abuse and moved known child molesters to new posts when he was bishop of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1988 to 2006, according to the grand jury…

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Pope Francis tells gay man: ‘God made you like this’

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Juan Carlos Cruz, who was sexually abused, says pontiff told him God did not mind that he was gay A survivor of clerical sexual abuse has said Pope Francis told him that God had made him gay and loved him, in arguably the most strikingly accepting comments about homosexuality to be uttered by the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Juan Carlos Cruz, who spoke privately with the pope two weeks ago about the abuse he suffered at the hands of one of Chiles most notorious paedophiles, said the issue…

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Pope calls for two-state solution in Israel and Palestine

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Pope Francis uses traditional Christmas Day message to address damage done by controversial Trump speech two weeks ago The pope has reinforced calls for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in his traditional Christmas Day message delivered just over two weeks after the US president, Donald Trump, inflamed tensions in the region. Speaking before the faithful in St Peters Square in Rome, Francis said the children of the Middle East continued to suffer because of growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. This month, Trump…

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Crimes of the Father by Thomas Keneally review something rotten in Catholicism

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The Booker prize winners powers remain undimmed, as he shines a light on institutionalised abuse, and denial, in the Catholic church, It is over half a century since a young the church turns a blind eye. Psychologist and monk Father Frank Docherty is, his younger brother says (and no doubt speaking for the author), the real bloody deal as far as priests go. Exiled by his home cardinal in Sydney as a young priest in the 1970s, on account of his radicalism, opposition to apartheid and the Vietnam war, he…

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The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness review a tale of betrayal by the church

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Graham Caveneys defiant, important memoir details how the Catholic establishment fails abuse victims Pope Francis has taken great strides in challenging all sorts of entrenched attitudes and prejudices in the Vatican that have given the Catholic church such a bad name of late. Progress has been disappointingly slow, however, on the commission he appointed in 2014 to tackle the appalling scandal of clerical sexual abuse. In March of this year bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99…

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Cardinal George Pell to plead not guilty to historical sexual abuse offences

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Australias most senior Catholic cleric appears at Melbourne magistrates court for first hearing Cardinal George Pell has appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court charged with multiple historical sexual abuse offences. Seated behind his lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, dressed in a simple black suit and clerical collar, Pell did not speak throughout the six-minute filing hearing. Richter said that while Pell was not required to enter a plea unless and until the matter was committed for trial, he would, because of the media and public interest in the case, indicate a…

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Pope Francis creates fourth pathway to becoming a saint

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Candidates for beatification, which was previously limited to those involved in miracles, can now include Christians who lay down their lives to save others Christians who lay down their life to save others, following in the footsteps and teaching of Jesus, will now be eligible for beatification, Pope Francis has said. Beatification is the first step on the path toward

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Gluten-free bread for Holy Communion is toast, says Vatican

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Unleavened bread used for communion during Catholic masses can be genetically modified but not entirely gluten-free, church rules The unleavened bread used to celebrate the holy communion during Catholic masses can be made with genetically modified organisms, the Vatican said Saturday, but they cannot be entirely gluten-free. Low-gluten bread is allowed but there must be enough protein in the wheat to make it without additives. Cardinal Robert Sarah of the Vaticans Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said the guidance was needed now that Eucharistic bread…

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Cardinal George Pell charged with multiple sexual offences

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Pell says he will return to Australia to clear his name after being charged Move against third-ranking official in Vatican sends shockwaves around church Cardinal George Pell, Australias most senior Catholic and the third-ranking official in the Vatican, has been charged with multiple sexual offences by police. The charges were served on Pells legal representatives in Melbourne on Thursday and they have been lodged also at Melbourne magistrates court. He will appear at the court on 18 July. Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges and there are multiple complainants, Victoria…

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Trudeau asks Pope Francis to apologise to indigenous people for church’s abuses

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President invites the pope to travel to Canada to say sorry to thousands placed in residential Catholic schools where they were abused Justin Trudeau has urged Pope Francis to visit Canada to apologise tomet the pope last week, Trudeau and Francis agree that climate change is caused by human activity. We talked about how important it is to highlight the scientific basis of protecting our planet and the moral and ethical obligations to lead, to build a better future for all people on this earth, Trudeau said. At last weeks…

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