French Bishop Convicted of Silence in Child Abuse CaseBishop Pierre Pican of the Diocese of Bayeux-Lisieux in Normandy, was convicted of keeping quiet about a priest who sexually abused children. He received a three-month suspended sentence. The priest, René Bissey, was sentenced to 18 years in pri

Israeli Troops Enter Village, Make Night ‘Like Hell’Night in the mainly Christian village of Beit Jalla was “like hell,” said the Rev. Yacoub Abdel Nur, pastor of Annunciation Catholic Church, after Israeli forces entered the village. “It was terrible; nobody could slee

Bishops’ Statements on Stem Cell ResearchHere are excerpts from statements of various U.S. bishops in reaction to President Bush’s decision, announced on Aug. 9, to permit federal funding of embryonic stem cell research using existing stem cell lines.Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galvesto

Continuing Archival ControversyA group of Catholic and Jewish scholars established to study World War II archival material already published by the Vatican has suspended its work. In a letter dated July 20, the scholars said that in order to continue working together they would need "access in

Archbishop Weakland Says He’s Not Disobeying PopeArchbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee declared, in a message read in all parishes on July 15, that he is not disobeying the pope by going ahead with the renovation of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The archbishop expanded on tha

Pope Visits UkrainePaying tribute to Ukrainians who endured decades of repression and assuring the nation’s Orthodox majority of his respect for their faith and fidelity, Pope John Paul II ended his long-awaited visit to Ukraine. Over the course of the visit on June 23-27, the pope drew larger

Bishops Tackle Liturgy, Global Warming, Mideast, MandatumThe U.S. Catholic bishops tackled issues ranging from global warming to the Middle East crisis, from liturgy to doctrine to moral teaching at their spring meeting on June 14-16 in Atlanta, Ga. The meeting was their final session under the name

Weakland Asked to Stop Cathedral RenovationsThe Vatican has asked Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., of Milwaukee to suspend renovation of that diocese’s cathedral in response to complaints from critics of the project who hired a canon lawyer to press their case in Rome. The Vatican wants

Consistory of Cardinals Meets with PopeIn the largest meeting of its kind ever held at the Vatican, more than 150 cardinals joined Pope John Paul II to discuss questions of collegiality, dialogue and evangelization in the church. The pope opened the consistory, which met from May 21 to 24, with a pr

Seventy Percent of Latinos Identify as Catholic, Says SurveyA new national survey reports that 70 percent of the Latino population in the United States identify themselves as Catholic and 22 percent consider themselves Protestant. Forty-five percent of the respondents said they attended church servi