Nation 

Religion ‘less important’ to most people than 20 years ago, surveys find

By CNA

Participants in a study spanning 27 countries say that religion plays a less important role in public life than it once did, though in many parts of the world, participants said that religion’s importance is on the rise, or that they would like to see an increased role for religion in society.

In the study, conducted by the Pew Research Center, 37% of respondents say religion plays a “less important role” in their countries than it did 20 years ago,…

Santa Fe archdiocese to file for bankruptcy

By CNA

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe announced Thursday it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

At a press conference Nov. 29, Archbishop John Wester said that filing for bankruptcy is an equitable way to meet its responsibility to sexual abuse victims.

Wester said there are between 35-40 active claims against the archdiocese, which is comprised of more than 300,000 Catholics in northwestern New Mexico.

The announcement came the day after New Mexico’s attorney general executed a search warrant…

US Congress passes bill to relieve Christians, Yazidis in Iraq and Syria

By Christine Rousselle, CNA/EWTN News

The US House of Representatives passed Tuesday H.R. 390, a bill titled “Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act,” which seeks to assist with the rebuilding of the Christian and Yazidi communities in Iraq and Syria.

Having also passed the Senate, the bill now will go to President Donald Trump, who has indicated he is willing to sign it.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and was cosponsored by a bipartisan…

Vatican cancels US bishops’ vote on sex abuse reform measures

By Ed Condon, CNA/EWTN News

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference has told the American bishops that they will not vote on two key proposals which had been expected to form the basis for the Church’s response to the sexual abuse crisis.

The news came at the beginning of the U.S. bishops’ conference fall general assembly, meeting in Baltimore Nov. 12-14.

The instruction to delay consideration of a new code of conduct for bishops and the creation…

Capuchin priest arrested in Washington DC

By Catholic News Agency

A Capuchin priest was arrested in Washington D.C. Nov. 7 after he was accused of sexually abusing a teenager in 2015. Fr. Urbano Vazquez, OFM Cap., had served as parochial vicar of Shrine of the Sacred Heart in northwest Washington since 2014. He has been charged with second-degree child sexual abuse.

The charges concern a claim that Vazquez had put his hand down the shirt of a 13-year-old girl on two occasions and had touched her…

How to talk to children about the Church sex abuse scandal

By Christine Rousselle, CNA

When speaking to their children about sexual abuse scandals in the Church, parents should listen to their children’s concerns and be careful to not to make assumptions, experts told CNA.

When discussing the issue of abuse, "the first step is to be sensitive [to] the age and stage the child's in,” Dr. Gregory Popcak, founder and executive director of the Pastoral Solutions Institute, told CNA.

“Certainly, a kindergarten age child would not need to know as much as…

Vigano testimony receives mixed response from US bishops

 By Mary Rezac, CNA/EWTN News

Multiple bishops have responded to a testimony published over the weekend by a former apostolic nuncio to the United States, which called for the resignation of Pope Francis and several cardinals and bishops, who are alleged to have covered-up of sexual abuse allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

In the testimony, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016, wrote that Benedict had “imposed on Cardinal McCarrick…

DiNardo calls for conclusive answers to questions raised by Vigan’s testimony

CNA/EWTN News

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, reaffirmed Monday the need for a “prompt and thorough examination” of questions surrounding Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.

The Aug. 27 statement of the Archbishop of Galveston-Houston was in response to a letter released by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio emeritus to the US, over the weekend.

The former apostolic nuncio’s 11-page written statement raised questions about the conduct and appointment of several U.S. cardinals and bishops, including Cardinal…

After grand jury report, new allegations raised in Pennsylvania

By JD Flynn, CNA

The Diocese of Pittsburgh has received about 50 new allegations of abuse, and a state abuse hotline has received more than 500 calls after the Aug. 14 release a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing an investigation of sexual abuse in six dioceses, including Pittsburgh.

All of the allegations reported to the diocese “are from prior to 1990 and go back as far as the 1940s,” according to diocesan spokesman Rev. Nicholas Vaskov.

“We are taking all of them…