Showing posts with label Roman Catholic Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman Catholic Church. Show all posts
Friday, March 01, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The conclave, the secretive process by which the Roman Catholic Church will elect a new Pope, has been tainted by scandals affecting Timothy Dolan, a contender for the papacy, and other cardinals.
Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, has become the latest cardinal to be questioned over his handling of sex abuse by priests and victims in Ireland, US and Belgium.
Of the 116 cardinals who will gather beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, several are embroiled in controversies connected to the Church’s systemic failure to tackle sex abuse against children by paedophile priests.
The question marks over the cardinals’ management of sex abuse cases are an embarrassment for the Holy See, just as Benedict prepares to resign the papacy next Thursday.
Timothy Dolan, the charismatic archbishop of New York, who is considered to have a chance of being elected Benedict XVI’s successor, was formally questioned about abusive priests in his former archdiocese of Milwaukee, just days before his departure for Rome to take part in the conclave. » | Thursday, February 21, 2012
Friday, February 01, 2013
The invitation was withdrawn after Muslims in Massachusetts expressed concerns to the diocese about the appearance of Spencer, scheduled to be a featured speaker at the DCU Center on March 16.
Spencer is director of the blog Jihad Watch and a leader of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and Stop Islamization of America, both of which are seen as anti-Muslim groups by some organizations that monitor extremism.
His books include “Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs,” “The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion,” and “Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics.” On his blog, he has argued that jihad is a central tenet of the faith.
After the Globe sought comment on his scheduled appearance from the diocese and from Muslim organizations Wednesday, the Islamic Council of New England sent an e-mail urging Catholic leaders to cancel Spencer’s appearance. The diocese agreed to do so shortly after receiving the e-mail. » | Lisa Wangsness | Blobe Staff | Thursday, January 31, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 1,000 priests have signed a letter voicing alarm that same-sex marriage could threaten religious freedom in a way last seen during “centuries of persecution” of Roman Catholics in England.
In one of the biggest joint letters of its type ever written, they raise fears that their freedom to practise and speak about their faith will be “severely” limited and dismiss Government reassurances as "meaningless".
They even liken David Cameron’s moves to redefine marriage to those of Henry VIII, whose efforts to secure a divorce from Katherine of Aragon triggered centuries of bloody upheaval between church and state.
They claim that, taken in combination with equalities laws and other legal restraints, the Coalition's plans will prevent Catholics and other Christians who work in schools, charities and other public bodies speaking freely about their beliefs on the meaning of marriage.
Even the freedom to speak from the pulpit could be under threat, they claim.
And they fear that Christians who believe in the traditional meaning of marriage would effectively be excluded from some jobs – just as Catholics were barred from many professions from the Reformation until the 19th Century.
The comments are contained in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, signed by 1,054 priests as well as 13 bishops, abbots and other senior Catholic figures. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Friday, January 11, 2013
Friday, November 02, 2012
Catholic leaders have reacted furiously after members of the gay rights group Stonewall named Cardinal Keith O'Brien "bigot of the year" for his vigorous attacks on gay marriage.
Stonewall said its 10,000 members had voted "decisively" to give the title to O'Brien, head of the Scottish Catholic church, after he described gay marriage as a "grotesque subversion" of the universal human right which defines marriage as solely heterosexual.
The church, which also alleges that people in gay marriages suffer greater risks of mental illness and premature death, demanded that the Scottish government and two sponsors – the banks Barclays and Coutts – withdraw their sponsorship of the group.
Barclays and Coutts have already warned they will stop financing Stonewall, the UK's largest gay rights group, if the bigot award is proposed again next year. The Scottish parliament is expected to vote to legalise gay marriages next year, despite intense opposition from religious groups. » | Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent | Friday, November 02, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Roman Catholic church in the US has launched a huge legal assault against President Barack Obama and his health reforms requiring most American employers to buy contraception for their staff.
Dozens of the church's largest archdioceses, universities and other affiliated groups sued the Obama administration around the country this week, in one of the largest religious lawsuits in US history.
They argue that the US government is violating the religious freedom of bosses whose faith forbids them from using or approving of birth control.
Firms who [sic] do not comply with the law face large fines.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, accused Mr Obama of "strangling" the church with his health care policies.
"We have tried negotiation with the administration and legislation with the Congress, and we'll keep at it, but there's still no fix," said Cardinal Dolan. "Time is running out, and our valuable ministries and fundamental rights hang in the balance, so we have to resort to the courts now."
The battle threatens to badly damage Mr Obama's support in November's presidential election among Catholics, a group he won by 54 per cent to 45 over his Republican rival John McCain in 2008. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: A Roman Catholic bishop who was convicted of importing child pornography into Canada has been stripped of his clerical duties.
The Holy See in Rome has dismissed Raymond Lahey from the clerical state in what is one of the most serious penalties that the Roman Catholic Church can impose, the Diocese of Antigonish, N.S., said Wednesday.
The decision means Mr. Lahey, a former bishop of Antigonish, can no longer work as a cleric nor preside at any religious services or sacraments. » | ANTIGONISH, N.S.— The Canadian Press | Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI may reach a decision by the end of May to allow the ultraconservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) to rejoin the Catholic church, SPIEGEL has learned.
At a meeting this coming Wednesday, the four cardinals of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees Catholic Church doctrine, plan to agree a proposal for reuniting the society with the Catholic Church, and will it submit it to the pope.
The Swiss-based SSPX, rejects some of the reforms made at the historic 1962 Second Vatican Council. It defied Rome in 1988 by illegally consecrating four bishops, which led to their excommunication by the late Pope John Paul. » | SPIEGEL | Sunday, May 13, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Cardinal O'Brien, who is the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has also branded David Cameron's opposition to a "Robin Hood tax" on financial institutions as "shameful".
In a BBC Scotland interview, the Cardinal said: "My message to David Cameron, as the head of our government, is to seriously think again about this Robin Hood tax, the tax to help the poor by taking a little bit from the rich.
"The poor have suffered tremendously from the financial disasters of recent years and nothing, really, has been done by the very rich people to help them.
"And I am saying to the prime minister, look, don't just protect your very rich colleagues in the financial industry, consider the moral obligation to help the poor of our country."
The UK government has opposed the unilateral introduction of a tax on financial transactions, arguing jobs and investment would be lost overseas. But the Cardinal said he believes that position is immoral because, he maintains it overlooks the needs of the poorest in society and those of the less well-off.
He said: "When I say poor, I don't (only) mean the abject poverty we see sometimes in our streets.
"I mean people who would have considered themselves reasonably well-off.
"People who have saved for their pensions and now realise their pension funds are no more.
"People who are considering giving up their retirement homes that they have been saving for, poverty affecting young couples and so on and so on.
"It is these people who have had to suffer because of the financial disasters of recent years and it is immoral. It is not moral, just to ignore them and to say 'struggle along', while the rich can go sailing along in their own sweet way." » | David Miller | BBC Scotland | Sunday, April 29, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
PRESS TV: The Central European Country of Austria is home to a population of just over 8 million people… Its history is rooted in Christianity, and indeed, it is a predominantly Catholic country… figures however are putting the growing islamic population at just over half-a-million since 2010… And it raises the question: what is the appeal of Islam, in a Central European Country, whose main religion is Christianity…?
Ms. Bagajati represents a growing number of people worldwide who are finding comfort in the teachings of Islam; leaving behind the world they are familiar with… Many have stated that they are disillusioned, and indeed abuse scandals in the Catholic church has played a major part in the exodus of members… so admits, Catholic Priest, Father Michael Prüller. (+ video) » | Thursday, April 12, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Evidence of the castrations has emerged amid controversy that it was not included in the findings of an official investigation into sexual abuse within the church last year.
The NRC Handelsblad newspaper identified Henk Heithuis who was castrated in 1956, while a minor, after reporting priests to the police for abusing him in a Catholic boarding home.
Joep Dohmen, the investigative journalist who uncovered the Heithuis case, also found evidence of at least nine other castrations. "These cases are anonymous and can no longer be traced," he said. "There will be many more. But the question is whether those boys, now old men, will want to tell their story."
Mr Heithuis died in a car crash in 1958, two years after being castrated at the age of 20, while under the age of majority, which was then 21.
In 1956 he had accused Catholic clergy of sexually abusing him in his Church run care home. » | Bruno Waterfield | Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Friday, March 09, 2012
THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The argument that gay marriage undermines straight marriage is as unconvincing as it is insulting
It is surprisingly hard to find in the Bible a consistent endorsement of heterosexual marriage as we now understand it. The Old Testament is replete with stories of men like King Solomon who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. And the New Testament is generally populated by single men and women whose domestic arrangements have little in common with the model of Christian marriage that is now being aggressively defended by Cardinal Keith O'Brien and others. Indeed, the best that many wedding service liturgies can do to insist that Jesus himself supported the institution of marriage is to say that he once turned up at one.
None of which is to attack the institution of marriage, which provides many with a permanent, faithful and stable context for loving relationships. Cardinal O'Brien is, however, getting completely carried away when he speaks of gay marriage as an attempt to "redefine reality". Traditionally, the church has explained the purpose of marriage in terms of three features: that it's the proper context for raising children, that it promotes monogamy and that it exists for the mutual comfort and society of one person for another. How can the application of these three features to gay marriage justify the cardinal's blustering hyperbole? » | Editorial | Thursday, March 08, 2012
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Redefining marriage to include homosexuals would be a “profoundly radical step” stripping it of its “distinctive nature”, the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, will say.
The warning, the most significant intervention yet into the debate on gay marriage, is in a letter to be read from the pulpit in 2,500 churches during Mass this Sunday. It has been seen by The Daily Telegraph as the Government prepares to announce the terms of a national consultation on a proposed change to the law on marriage.
The last time the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church intervened on a political issue, during the threat to impose quotas on faith schools in 2007, ministers climbed down within days.
Significantly, the letter, co-signed by the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend Peter Smith, adopts a strikingly moderate tone, in contrast with that of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, who accused the Coalition of a “grotesque subversion” at the weekend.
As well as setting out Church teaching, it appeals to wider society, arguing that marriage is a “natural institution” with a meaning understood far beyond the confines of the religion. It says that extending it to same-sex couples would reduce marriage to a vague commitment between two people. The archbishops argue that marriage between a man and a woman is “at the foundation of our society”, but also praise the “remarkable example of courage and fidelity” displayed by many who have suffered marital breakdown. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, March 05, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
BBC – TODAY: A senior British cleric has defended his attack on government plans to legalise same sex marriage.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, had described the plans as "grotesque" and said they would "shame the United Kingdom" in an article in the Telegraph.
He told the Today programme's John Humphrys that likening gay marriage to slavery is "a very good example" of what could follow on from the change in the law.
Same sex marriage "is not marriage", he maintained, which is defined by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights as a relationship between a man and a woman. Countries which already support same sex marriage are "violating human rights".
"It's time to call a halt to what you might call progress", he said, saying that same sex marriage would lead to society "degenerating even further... into immorality". Listen to BBC AUDIO » | John Humphries | Monday, March 05, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay marriage is like slavery, Catholic leader says: Britain’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has condemned gay marriage as an “aberration”, likening it to slavery and abortion. » | Hannah Furness | Monday, March 05, 2012
NY DAILY NEWS: Head of Catholic Church in Scotland calls British plan to allow gay marriage ‘madness’: Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal Keith O’Brien accuses British government of trying to ‘redefine reality’ ¶ LONDON — The head of the Catholic Church in Scotland has fiercely attacked the British government’s plans to allow gay marriage, calling the proposals “madness.” ¶ In an article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal Keith O’Brien accused the coalition government of trying to “redefine reality.” ¶ He called the plans “a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right,” and said the government’s backing for marriage to include homosexual couples was “madness.” » | Associated Press | Sunday, March 04, 2012
GUARDIAN – BLOGS – ANDREW BROWN: If lay Catholics now accept remarriage, why not gay marriage? : Cardinal O'Brien should note the Bible's rejection of divorce is a lot stronger than the evidence for damning all gay people » | Andrew Brown | Monday, March 05, 2012
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, says the proposals to allow same-sex unions are “madness” and a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right”.
The cardinal’s intervention, in an article for The Sunday Telegraph, is the strongest criticism yet from any church figure of the plans, which are due to be unveiled this month by Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister.
He accuses ministers of trying to “redefine reality” and change long-standing laws and traditions “at the behest of a small minority of activists”.
The cardinal has added his voice to those of leading figures in the Coalition for Marriage, a group of bishops, politicians and lawyers opposed to the changes. The group’s supporters include Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
The group is in outright opposition to Mr Cameron, who hopes to make legislation changing the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, expected by 2015, one of the central achievements of his time in office. » | Patrick Hennessy and Edward Malnick | Saturday, March 03, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Mr Cameron, who has publicly pledged his support for gay marriage, is facing a growing backlash from within his own party over the proposal to redefine the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
He is now facing the prospect of an open breach with prominent religious figures – just a week after leading Conservatives voiced their support for Christianity following a series of court rulings which reinforced the secularisation of Britain.
Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, yesterday joined Lord Brennan, the barrister and peer, to launch the “Coalition For Marriage”, a new cross-party campaign [to] designed derail the plans for homosexual marriage.
A clutch of Church of England bishops and other Christian groups have already pledged their support for the alliance which is seeking hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition to maintain the current definition of marriage.
Crucially, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church yesterday threw its support behind the campaign, raising the prospect of support from the more than a million devout Catholics in England and Wales.
It is understood that leading bishops are considering issuing a pastoral letter to parishes across urging them to support the campaign. » | John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor | Monday, February 20, 2012
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