An encouraging note from Pope Francis capped an especially disorienting week on the Vatican’s stance toward gay rights.
Tag: Priests
Priest Is Held in an Acid Attack in Greece
The assault, during a hearing about defrocking the priest, injured 11 people, including seven bishops.
A Latin Expert’s Odyssey, From the Vatican to the Gay Rights Movement
Francesco Lepore likes to challenge the status quo. He now writes a general-interest column in Latin, with the latest on “Ioseph Biden” and “Vladimirum Putin.”
Pope Francis Rejects German Cardinal’s Offer to Resign
Cardinal Reinhard Marx had sought to quit as a way to take responsibility for the church’s earlier failures to address sexual abuse by priests.
Reinhard Marx, German Cardinal, Offers to Resign Over Church Sexual Abuse
In a letter to Pope Francis, Cardinal Reinhard Marx said he saw his resignation as an opportunity to take responsibility for the abuses of past decades.
Pope Widens Church Law to Target Sexual Abuse of Adults by Priests and Laity
The new rules explicitly criminalize the sexual exploitation of adults by priests who abuse their authority, and the changes also apply to laypeople with power in the church.
German Catholic Priests Defy Rome to Offer Blessings to Gay Couples
More than 100 Roman Catholic parishes in Germany held services to bless gay couples, in defiance of the Vatican’s refusal to recognize same-sex unions.
As Coronavirus Hits Vatican Revenue, Pope Cuts Pay for High-Ranking Clerics
The Vatican has been hit hard by the economic impact of the pandemic, prompting Francis to impose pay cuts on cardinals and others so lower-ranking employees can keep their jobs.
Pope Formalizes Women’s Roles, but Priesthood Stays Out of Reach
Pope Francis has amended the Catholic Church laws so that women may be Bible readers at Mass, serve at the altar and distribute communion — practices already common in many countries.
Pope Calls Uighurs ‘Persecuted,’ Prompting Pushback From China
In a new book, Pope Francis mentioned the crackdown on the Muslim minority group for the first time. Beijing rejected his characterization as “groundless.”