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Vatican Backs Efforts to Prevent Iraq War, Disarm SaddamWith diplomatic moves and moral encouragement, the Vatican backed international efforts in mid-February to prevent a new war in Iraq and promote the country’s peaceful disarmament. Meanwhile, Catholic leaders and organizations joined a gr

Pope’s Envoy Presses Iraq to Cooperate With InspectorsPope John Paul II appealed again for a peaceful settlement of the crisis in Iraq and sent a high-level envoy to Baghdad to press for greater Iraqi cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray left for Baghdad on Feb.

Vatican Opposition to War Based on Morality and Political RealitiesThe Vatican’s opposition to a war against Iraq is based on political realism as well as moral arguments, a leading Vatican official said. “From the outside, we may seem like idealists, and we are, but we are also realists

Growing List of Church Leaders, Groups Oppose War in IraqAs the threat of war in Iraq loomed larger, Christian leaders and associations across the world urged restraint on the use of force and warned of a humanitarian disaster if the country is attacked. From Catholic bishops to interchurch coalitio

March for Life Speakers Enthused About Congress, PresidentSpeakers at the kickoff rally on Jan. 22 for the 30th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., expressed optimism that the current Republican-dominated Congress and White House could change abortion laws in this country. “For eight ye

Pope, Other Leaders Urge That War With Iraq Be AvoidedAs war clouds darkened the coming of a new year, Pope John Paul II joined other church leaders in asking that a U.S.-led war be avoided with Iraq. In a year-end speech to Vatican officials, he warned against conflicts “that risk exploding again

Cardinal Law Resigns After Year of Growing ScandalCardinal Bernard F. Law’s resignation as archbishop of Boston on Dec. 13 came at the end of a year in which the burgeoning clergy sexual abuse scandal practically paralyzed his archdiocese and exploded into a national crisis that consumed the e

Review Board to Interview Bishops on Scope of ScandalA subcommittee of the U.S. bishops’ National Review Board on clergy sexual abuse will begin interviewing bishops, archbishops and cardinals in an effort to understand the scope of the abuse scandal. A statement on Dec. 6 from the attorney Ro

Cardinal Says Homosexuals Should Not Be OrdainedA Vatican congregation, in response to a query by a bishop, said men who are homosexuals or have homosexual tendencies should not be ordained priests. Ordaining such candidates to the priesthood would be imprudent and “very risky,” said a l

Christians, Churches Attacked in Rioting Over Miss World PageantAt least 215 people were reported killed (as of Nov. 25), during riots in Kaduna, Nigeria, sparked by a newspaper article about the Miss World pageant, reports Emmanuel Ijewere, president of the Nigerian Red Cross. About 12,000 people h