Publication: Wall Street Journal
‘Catholic’ Santa Clara University’s Crazy Idea of Human Sexuality
To become a therapist, students are expected to watch bondage videos and submit a ‘sexual autobiography.’ I’m a graduate student in marriage and family therapy at Santa Clara University, a ...
The Vatican Financial Mess Pope Francis Couldn’t Fix
The ailing pope was short of breath, sitting beneath a cherished painting of Mary, Untier of Knots, as he worked through a last-ditch plan to disentangle the finances of one ...
Fr. Gerald Murray: Pope Francis Commandeers the Synod on Synodality
The Vatican is again talking about how to talk. That, in a nutshell, describes the Catholic Church’s “Synod on Synodality,” which begins Oct. 2. The 368 voting members are clergy ...
Ailing Pope Francis Hurries to Bolster His Progressive Legacy
Pope Francis is moving to shore up his progressive legacy as his health problems increase, making key appointments that could shape the Catholic Church well past the end of his pontificate. Following hospitalizations in ...
Vatican Bank’s Ex-President Convicted of Embezzlement, Money Laundering
A Vatican court found a former president of the Vatican bank guilty of embezzlement and money laundering during the pontificates of St. John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI, closing a ...
Pope Francis Struggles to Escape Scandals of 2019
Pope Francis ended 2019 in embarrassment when he angrily slapped the hand of a woman who had pulled on his own while he was greeting pilgrims on New Year’s Eve ...
St. Greta Spreads the Climate Gospel
A movement that believes in sin, penance and salvation doesn’t sound very scientific. It’s been noted before that the cause of addressing climate change has become something like the modern ...
Vatican Loses Access to International Financial Watchdog Information
An international network of financial watchdogs has suspended the Vatican’s access to its information, dealing a major blow to the Vatican’s financial credibility under Pope Francis. The Egmont Group, a ...
Insurers Face Wave of Costly Child Sex-Abuse Claims
New state laws encouraging child sex-abuse victims to come forward are expected to spur a wave of lawsuits against insurance companies. Twenty-two states and Washington, D.C., have laws going into ...
New York Sex-Abuse Law Brings Forth Hundreds of New Cases
One woman alleged that an elementary-school teacher repeatedly put his hand up her skirt while hidden behind a chalkboard, sometimes hitting her with a plastic bat. A man accused a ...
Catholic Church Offers Cash to Settle Abuse Claims – With a Catch
A potential flood of lawsuits has spurred the Catholic Church to offer mediation, only if accusers agree not to sue Four decades ago, Jimmy Pliska says, he was sexually assaulted ...
Two Priests Resign in West Virginia Shakeup
On Monday, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston announced the resignations of Monsignors Anthony Cincinnati and Kevin Quirk. A third priest, Frederick Annie, resigned in September, it said. The diocese didn’t give ...
Vatican Allows Guam Archbishop to Keep Rank Despite Child-Abuse Verdict
An archbishop in Guam who was found guilty of sexual abuse of minors by a Vatican court and permanently removed from his post remains a priest with the rank of ...
Everyday Catholics Can Fight Sex Abuse
Bishops have failed to police themselves. It’s time for the laity to step up. More than 15 years after Americans learned of gross abuse of children by Catholic priests, this ...
Francis and O’Malley Clash Over Sex-Abuse Crisis
Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, chief adviser to Pope Francis on protecting children from sexual abuse, called a meeting with top papal aides in 2017, concerned the Vatican wasn’t living ...
Pope Francis Tries To ‘Dial Down’ Expectations for February’s Abuse Summit
Pope Francis tried to play down next month’s Vatican summit on sex abuse, describing the meeting’s purpose as primarily educational even amid widespread calls for bishops to face greater accountability ...
Vatican Aims to Expedite McCarrick’s Trial
The Vatican plans to try Archbishop Theodore McCarrick as early as this coming week , in order to make a final decision on his fate before next month’s Vatican summit ...
Vatican Panel Faces Criticism Over Leniency for Priests Guilty of Abuse
A little-known Vatican appeals panel established by Pope Francis has sharply reduced penalties meted out to priests convicted of sexual abuse under church law in more than a third of ...
When the Cardinal Sins
Theodore McCarrick isn’t the first prince of the Catholic church to have lived a private life scandalously at odds with the red hat he wore. Nor is he the first ...
How to Save the Catholic Church
The great second wave of church scandals appears this week to be settling down. In the Vatican they're likely thinking "the worst is over" and "we've weathered the storm." Is ...