A state report released Wednesday revealed that more than 150 priests and others sexually abused more than 600 children over the past 80 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
US Church
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
When a Catholic diocese goes bankrupt, does it help or hurt sex abuse survivors?
Defenders of bankruptcy say it gives organizations a fair way to distribute assets to those seeking compensation. Some critics argue that the process allows church leaders to hide assets, especially real estate.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The priests and politicians of Edwin O’Connor’s novels
Edwin O’Connor, whose life and literary career were abruptly cut short by his 1968 death at the age of 49, captured the imagination of his audience like few other authors of his time.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Nashville bishop prays for victims of Covenant School shooting: ‘Death does not have the final word’
Nashville Bishop J. Mark Spalding celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on March 27 to pray for the victims of the school shooting that morning at The Covenant School.
Posted inFaith, News
Retired priest barred from hearing confessions over support for law repealing the confessional seal
Archbishop Listecki said “the false assertions of Father James Connell have caused understandable and widespread unrest among the People of God, causing them to question if the privacy of the confessional can now be violated.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
U.S. bishops: Human composting is unacceptable for Catholic burials
Human composting and alkaline hydrolysis do not satisfy the Catholic Church’s requirements for proper respect for the dead, the U.S. bishops said in a recent statement.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
We don’t know enough about the causes of clergy sexual abuse. One Jesuit initiative is beginning to change that.
Fordham University’s Taking Responsibility initiative released its final report on Feb. 9, calling for both clergy and lay members of Jesuit institutions to face “entangled responsibilities” around the abuse crisis.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Philosopher for a Secular Age: Charles Taylor’s influence in the Catholic Church
Charles Taylor, the Canadian philosopher and social theorist who has become one of the world’s most prominent thinkers in the last few decades, continues to influence American religious dialogues, including in the pages of ‘America.’
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
The bishops are right: We need a national eucharistic revival. But the current plan isn’t enough.
We need a national eucharistic revival. However, after reviewing materials associated with the National Eucharistic Revival, I am not confident that it will accomplish what it sets out to do.
Posted inFeatures, Politics & Society
Catholicism, authentic communion and the way out of our polarization trap
What is the way out of polarization? And why does that question—along with the now-commonplace observation that society suffers from deepening divisions about everything from gun control to abortion to public funding for religious schools—seem so exhausting?