News of church

Fewer Catholics in Europe, more in Africa, Americas

21-10-2021 10:49 The Catholic Church continues to lose followers in Europe, but numbers are booming in Africa and the Americas, according to figures released by the Vatican on Thursday.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

'Massive' child sex abuse in French Catholic Church, inquiry finds

05-10-2021 12:17 French Catholic clergy sexually abused around 216,000 minors spanning seven decades since 1950, a "massive phenomenon" that was covered up by a "veil of silence," an independent commission said Tuesday.

COURTS

Santa Cruz: Priest jailed for 17 years for sexual abuse of two minors

10-09-2021 01:01 Priest Nicolás Parma sentenced to 17 years in prison after being found guilty of the sexual abuse of two seminarians in Santa Cruz Province.

Abortion rights

Mexico's Supreme Court rules criminalising abortion is unconstitutional

08-09-2021 11:36 Mexico’s Supreme Court unanimously declares that criminalising early-term abortion is unconstitutional, a historic decision that loosens limits on the procedure in a region where few countries offer access without restriction.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Brazil bishop resigns amid sex scandal

18-08-2021 21:09 Pope Francis accepted a Brazilian bishop's resignation Wednesday amid a scandal over a leaked sex tape and allegations he covered up cases of sexual abuse by priests in his diocese.

church sex abuse

Priest sentenced to 12 years in jail for three counts of sexual abuse

13-07-2021 16:43 Rubén Agustín Rosa Torino, 67, sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Salta court for three counts of sexual abuse against victims following a six-week trial.

ARGENTINE PONTIFF

Chicken walk and mate: Pope Francis' health, from colon to sciatica

05-07-2021 10:57 Pope Francis was doing well on Monday after surgery for an inflamed large colon, but the 84-year-old was expected to spend around seven days recovering in hospital, the Vatican said. A look at the Argentine pontiff's other health problems.

ARGENTINE PONTIFF

Pope Francis undergoes colon operation, confirms Vatican

04-07-2021 20:55 Pontiff admitted to Rome's Gemelli University Hospital "for a scheduled surgery for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon," informs Vatican statement.

Indigenous Rights

Nearly 200 more unmarked graves found at Canada indigenous school

30-06-2021 18:48 Another 182 unmarked graves were discovered at a third former indigenous residential school in Canada as two Catholic Churches went up in flames on Wednesday.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

UN rights experts urge Vatican to halt child sex abuse

21-06-2021 11:02 Experts voice "utmost concern about numerous allegations around the world of sexual abuse and violence committed by members of the Catholic Church against children."

ARGENTINE FONTIFF

Pope Francis: 'Private property is a secondary right'

18-06-2021 18:10 “We should continue exercising special care for the common good” – leader of Catholic Church speaks his mind during a video speech before the International Labour Organisation.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis updates canon law to address paedophilia by priests

01-06-2021 12:15 Pope Francis has updated the Catholic Church's criminal code, adding details on punishing sexual abuse crimes of minors by priests, measures long sought by activists against paedophilia.

Sex abuse

Second Próvolo abuse trial gets underway with two nuns in dock

03-05-2021 17:00 Two nuns and seven other woman stand trial, accused of complicity in the sexual abuse of deaf children at the Próvolo Institute in Mendoza Province.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis tightens Vatican's anti-corruption rules

29-04-2021 12:00 Pope Francis on Thursday announced new anti-corruption rules for top officials as part of his drive to clean up the Vatican following a series of scandals.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Plaintiffs in second Próvolo sex abuse trial demand 'end to delays'

17-04-2021 08:41 Victims and relatives complain defence lawyers for two nuns and several other women are stalling trial into historic child sex abuse at Próvolo Institute in Mendoza Province.

European Politics

Spain legalises euthanasia, assisted suicide

18-03-2021 12:27 Spain's parliament passed a law legalising euthanasia on Thursday with 202 in favour and 141 against, making it one of few nations to allow terminally-ill or gravely-injured patients to end their own suffering.

church sex abuse claims

Ex-priest controversially cleared of 'outrageous sexual abuse' charges by court

09-03-2021 22:01 Court in Buenos Aires Province controversially clears retired priest Carlos Eduardo José of sexual abuse charges, ruling that the statue of limitations on the case had expired.

Argentine pontiff

Pope Francis expects to spend his final days in Rome, says new book

28-02-2021 07:01 Asked how he sees his final days, 84-year-old Argentine pontiff tells Nelson Castro: "I will be pope, either active or emeritus, and in Rome. I will not return to Argentina."

Aborto Legal

Judge in Chaco moves to block application of abortion law

29-01-2021 15:29 Argentina's landmark and recently approved abortion law faced its first setback on Thursday in the northern province of Chaco, after a judge moved to suspend its application.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Reports: Pope Francis receives coronavirus vaccine

13-01-2021 12:05 Pope Francis, 84, was given the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, according to media reports.

ARGENTINE PONTIFF

Pope recalls his youth playing football, dubs Maradona "poet"

03-01-2021 16:16 The first pope from Latin America called Diego Maradona a "poet" on the field, as he weighed in on the joys of sport in an interview with Italian newspaper.

Abortion bill

Argentina's Catholics, evangelicals unite against abortion bill

27-12-2020 09:12 As the Senate prepares for a December 29 vote on a bill that would legalise abortion in the first 14 weeks, the Catholic Church has joined forces with evangelical Christians to fight the measure tooth and nail.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis appoints first African American cardinal

29-11-2020 08:56 Pope Francis created 13 new cardinals on Saturday – including the first African-American – putting his personal stamp on the body that will one day choose his successor.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Vatican breaks silence, explains pope's civil union comments

02-11-2020 17:36 The Vatican says pontiff's comments on gay civil unions were taken out of context in a documentary that spliced together parts of an old interview, but confirms Francis’ belief that gay couples should enjoy legal protections.

TERROR ATTACK

France on 'emergency' footing after knifeman kills three at church

31-10-2020 09:32 Nation on highest alert setting after knife-wielding man kills three people at a church in Nice, in what officials described as a “terror attack.”

US ELECTION 2020: CANDIDATE PROFILE

Joe Biden: From tragedy to verge of triumph

31-10-2020 08:56 At 77 and leading in the polls just days ahead of the November 3 vote, Democratic hopeful Joe Biden is on the cusp of becoming the oldest US president ever.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

'Unafraid' pope to escalate Vatican corruption fight

30-10-2020 14:12 Argentine pontiff hints he's preparing to ramp up his fight against corruption in the Vatican, weeks after the shock ousting of a cardinal over embezzlement accusations.

Constitutional referendum

Chileans vote on whether to rewrite dictatorship-era charter

25-10-2020 11:08 Chileans will decide on Sunday whether or not to replace the constitution that dates back to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and secondly, if the current Congress or other citizens should write the new text.

Protests in Chile

Riots escalate in Chile as crunch referendum draws closer

20-10-2020 08:48 President Sebastián Piñera condemned burning of two churches and other violence that marred anti-government demonstrations, as Chile prepares to hold a landmark constitutional referendum.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope meets with Australian cardinal acquitted of child abuse charges

12-10-2020 12:35 Pope Francis met Monday with Australian Cardinal George Pell for the first time since he was jailed – and then acquitted – on child sex abuse charges.

Global pandemic

Pope: Market capitalism has failed in pandemic, needs reform

04-10-2020 09:04 In new encyclical, Argentine pontiff says the coronavirus pandemic has proven that the “magic theories” of market capitalism have failed and that the world needs a new type of politics.

Global pandemic

Pope Francis makes first trip outside Rome since virus lockdown

03-10-2020 16:47 Pope Francis travels to Assisi for first trip since the Vatican's coronavirus lockdown.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Prosecutors in Entre Ríos investigate claim priest raped nephew

29-09-2020 14:03 Sergio Decuyper accuses his paternal uncle, Reverend José Francisco Decuyper, of raping him more than 35 years ago. 42-year-old says Pope Francis asked him not to file a criminal complaint.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope seeks to 'liberate' Virgin Mary from the Mafia

18-09-2020 14:15 Pope Francis gives blessing to new Vatican think tank that seeks to prevent the Mafia and organised crime groups from exploiting the image of the Virgin Mary for their own illicit ends.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pleasures of food and sex 'simply divine,' says Pope Francis

09-09-2020 16:50 The pleasures of a well-cooked meal or loving sexual intercourse are "divine" and have unjustly fallen victim to "overzealousness" on the part of the Church in the past, says pontiff.

The Pope & the Pandemic

What happens when pandemic locks down a globe-trotting pope?

30-08-2020 08:37 During the virus crisis, Francis has become a 21st century “prisoner of the Vatican," as one of his predecessors was once known, robbed of the crowds, foreign travel and visits to the peripheries that so defined and popularised his papacy.

Global pandemic

Latin America's evangelical churches hard hit by pandemic

26-08-2020 14:26 Evangelical churches have kept spreading the Gospel despite government measures meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus vaccine

Pope calls for social justice and vaccines for all

19-08-2020 14:40 Pope Francis on Wednesday called attention to the ways in which Covid-19 has exacerbated global issues of inequality and said that he hopes the eventual vaccine will not be reserved for the wealthiest.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis names six women to Vatican economic council

07-08-2020 14:32 Women will serve as lay experts on the 15-member body, which also includes eight cardinals and another male lay expert, the Vatican said in a statement.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Argentine bishop resumes work in Holy See as Vatican abuse probe wraps

15-06-2020 15:28 Vatican spokesman confirms Archbishop Gustavo Zanchetta has resumed work in Holy See, but claims it in no way interferes with investigations probing alleged sexual abuse.

EASTER MESSAGE

Pope celebrates joy of Easter amid sorrow of virus pandemic

12-04-2020 08:02 Pope Francis on Sunday called for the reduction or forgiveness of the debt of poor nations suffering in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

EASTER WEEKEND

Pope Francis guides locked-down world through virtual Easter

10-04-2020 09:51 Church doors will be shut and the Vatican sealed off when Pope Francis leads 1.3 billion Catholics in Easter Sunday celebrations held under a worldwide coronavirus lockdown.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Cardinal Pell lawyers claim child sex conviction is 'wrong' in appeal

11-03-2020 12:48 Lawyers for disgraced cardinal claimed the senior cleric's conviction for child sex abuse was based on "improbabilities", as they launched a last-ditch appeal in Australia's top court on Wednesday.

Abortion debate

Catholic Church stages Mass in rejection of upcoming abortion bill

09-03-2020 13:37 Catholics in Argentina flocked to Luján on Sunday for a Mass “in favour of life” on International Women's Day.

Coronavirus outbreak

Vatican suspends investigative mission to Mexico over coronavirus

06-03-2020 17:08 The Vatican suspends a mission to Mexico to investigate clerical abuse due to the inability to travel in the face of coronavirus.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

French cardinal exits over failure to report alleged sex abuser

06-03-2020 13:34 The Pope has accepted the resignation of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, whose conviction for shielding an alleged child-molesting priest was overturned on appeal last month.

Abortion rights

Argentina braces anew for abortion battle

05-03-2020 07:00 In his first speech to Congress upon the arrival of a new legislative session, Alberto Fernández vowed to begin a project to legalise abortion in the coming weeks. Campaigners on both sides are preparing for another showdown.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Próvolo abuse survivors ask Pope for justice

22-02-2020 10:26 Deaf survivors of clerical sexual abuse fly to Vatican, hoping to build pressure on Pope Francis to come clean about the crimes committed against them.

Church Abuse

Deaf Argentine abuse survivors target pope with defiant message

19-02-2020 15:33 The victims of the Próvolo Institute are seeking a private meeting with Pope Francis in an effort to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Child Abuse

Boy Scouts of America's future uncertain after bankruptcy filing

18-02-2020 11:51 A new barrage of sex-abuse lawsuits have forced the 110-year-old institution to reassess its future.

News of church

Fewer Catholics in Europe, more in Africa, Americas

'Massive' child sex abuse in French Catholic Church, inquiry finds

Santa Cruz: Priest jailed for 17 years for sexual abuse of two minors

Mexico's Supreme Court rules criminalising abortion is unconstitutional

Brazil bishop resigns amid sex scandal

Priest sentenced to 12 years in jail for three counts of sexual abuse

Chicken walk and mate: Pope Francis' health, from colon to sciatica

Pope Francis undergoes colon operation, confirms Vatican

Nearly 200 more unmarked graves found at Canada indigenous school

UN rights experts urge Vatican to halt child sex abuse

Pope Francis: 'Private property is a secondary right'

Pope Francis updates canon law to address paedophilia by priests

Second Próvolo abuse trial gets underway with two nuns in dock

Pope Francis tightens Vatican's anti-corruption rules

Plaintiffs in second Próvolo sex abuse trial demand 'end to delays'

Spain legalises euthanasia, assisted suicide

Ex-priest controversially cleared of 'outrageous sexual abuse' charges by court

Pope Francis expects to spend his final days in Rome, says new book

Judge in Chaco moves to block application of abortion law

Reports: Pope Francis receives coronavirus vaccine

Pope recalls his youth playing football, dubs Maradona "poet"

Argentina's Catholics, evangelicals unite against abortion bill

Pope Francis appoints first African American cardinal

Vatican breaks silence, explains pope's civil union comments

France on 'emergency' footing after knifeman kills three at church

Joe Biden: From tragedy to verge of triumph

'Unafraid' pope to escalate Vatican corruption fight

Chileans vote on whether to rewrite dictatorship-era charter

Riots escalate in Chile as crunch referendum draws closer

Pope meets with Australian cardinal acquitted of child abuse charges

Pope: Market capitalism has failed in pandemic, needs reform

Pope Francis makes first trip outside Rome since virus lockdown

Prosecutors in Entre Ríos investigate claim priest raped nephew

Pope seeks to 'liberate' Virgin Mary from the Mafia

Pleasures of food and sex 'simply divine,' says Pope Francis

What happens when pandemic locks down a globe-trotting pope?

Latin America's evangelical churches hard hit by pandemic

Pope calls for social justice and vaccines for all

Pope Francis names six women to Vatican economic council

Argentine bishop resumes work in Holy See as Vatican abuse probe wraps

Pope celebrates joy of Easter amid sorrow of virus pandemic

Pope Francis guides locked-down world through virtual Easter

Cardinal Pell lawyers claim child sex conviction is 'wrong' in appeal

Catholic Church stages Mass in rejection of upcoming abortion bill

Vatican suspends investigative mission to Mexico over coronavirus

French cardinal exits over failure to report alleged sex abuser

Argentina braces anew for abortion battle

Próvolo abuse survivors ask Pope for justice

Deaf Argentine abuse survivors target pope with defiant message

Boy Scouts of America's future uncertain after bankruptcy filing

Protesting Ecuadoreans block roads as fuel price crisis escalates

Brazil hikes interest rate by most in two decades

Brazil tightens most in tears, with 150 points now and December

Amazon's new series on life of Maradona set to premiere in Argentina

José Mujica: ‘Things cannot function when one half of the country is against the other half’

Gustavo Santos: "Argentina perdió más de USD 1000 millones por culpa de La Cámpora en el último trimestre"

El cruce entre Fernando Iglesias y Matías Tombolini: "Comparabas a López Murphy con Videla"

La reacción de Fernando Iglesias cuando le rechazaron el pedido de juicio político a Aníbal Fernández

Mendoza, Córdoba, La Rioja y Buenos Aires ya están listas para aplicar terceras dosis

Jorge Asís: "Mauricio Macri lanza su candidatura presidencial en Dolores"