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Audit Finds Nearly Total Compliance With Bishops’ Policies on Sexual AbuseAn independent audit released on Feb. 18 in Washington, D.C., reported that as of Dec. 31, 2004, 96 percent of the 195 U.S. Catholic dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies were implementing every applicable article of the U

U.S. Theological Society Distressed at Vatican CondemnationThe board of directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America has expressed profound distress at the Vatican action condemning a book by Roger Haight, S.J., an American theologian, and banning him from teaching Catholic theology. Fat

Vatican Official’s Comment Reopens Debate Over Possibility That Pope Will ResignWhen a high Vatican official said papal resignation should be left to the conscience of Pope John Paul II, it reignited a debate that has been smoldering for many years. Inside and outside the Vatican, prelates and

Pope Hospitalized With Breathing ProblemsAfter Pope John Paul II was rushed to a hospital in Rome on the evening of Feb. 1 for treatment to help him overcome breathing problems, his condition stabilized and he was able to concelebrate Mass from his hospital bed, the Vatican spokesman reported. The H

Pro-Life Events Mark Roe v. Wade AnniversaryIn what was the first large-scale Roe v. Wade anniversary demonstration in San Francisco, 7,000 pro-lifers marched down San Francisco’s Embarcadero, along the city’s waterfront, in the Walk for Life West Coast on Jan. 22, the 32nd anniversary o

Vatican May Reopen Old Abuse ComplaintsA previously dormant case against Marcial Maciel Degollado, L.C., founder of the Legionaries of Christ, could be reopened at the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican lawyer said in a letter to three former members of the Legionaries who

Catholic Agencies Mobilize for ReliefAs the death toll from the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis soared, Pope John Paul II praised the international community for rapidly mobilizing aid efforts and said the church’s charitable agencies were doing the same. In a statement on Dec. 30, Carita

Pope Emphasizes Healing, Holiness to Visiting U.S. BishopsIn a series of ad limina talks during 2004, Pope John Paul II has encouraged U.S. bishops to regroup pastorally after the sexual abuse scandal and recover their prophetic voice on moral and social issues. The pope acknowledged that the abuse

Record Abuse Settlement Reached in CaliforniaThe Diocese of Orange, Calif., reached a reportedly record-breaking financial settlement with 87 alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse on Dec. 2. Judge Owen Lee Kwong, who oversaw the settlement, ordered participants on both sides not to discuss details,

Ukrainian Catholic Leaders Back Opposition, Speak of Electoral FraudUkrainian Catholic leaders backed opposition protests and said the presidential elections on Nov. 21 were marked by fraud. They also urged the government to avoid violence as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets o