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Catholics see rise in numbers in Asia and Africa
The number of Catholic priests and believers in the world is on the rise, a Vatican report showed on Monday, with gains in Africa and Asia offsetting a slump in Europe and the Americas. The world’s Catholics rose from 1.196 billion to 1.214 billion between 2010 and 2011, an increase…
Detroit Catholic leaders suggest self-excommunication for same sex marriage supporters
The archbishop of Detroit told Catholics who support same sex marriage that they should effectively excommunicate themselves. Archbishop Allen Vigneron on Sunday said that Catholics who support marriage equality and try to receive Communion would “logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury,” according to the Detroit…
Study: One quarter of Catholics attend mass once a week
Only about one in four American Catholics attend mass once a week, a number that has been cut in half in the past 40 years, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday. Only 24 percent of US Catholics said they went to mass on a weekly…
Catholic support marriage equality by larger margin than the rest of America
US Catholics support gay marriage by a larger margin than ordinary Americans despite Church teachings that forbid it, a new poll out Friday has found. The Quinnipiac University poll found 54 percent of Catholics support same-sex marriage while just 38 percent are opposed, compared to a 47-43 percent margin among…
Documentary shows Catholic positions on abortion, contraception are relatively new
The group Catholics for Choice released a 45-minute documentary on Tuesday that seeks to educate viewers about moral theology and reproductive ethics not typically associated with Catholicism. “Contrary to popular opinion, there is more to Catholics’ beliefs than what the hierarchy espouses,” Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, said.…
Majority of Catholics want church to focus on poverty, not abortion
A significant majority of Catholics say that their church should spend more time focusing on poverty and less on issues like abortion, contraception and same sex marriage. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) on Tuesday released its 2012 American Values Survey, which indicated that 60 percent of Catholics were more…
German court rules Catholics must pay tax to remain in church
A top German court ruled on Wednesday that Roman Catholics must pay their church tax in order to remain a member of the Church and participate in its rites. The Federal Administrative Court’s ruling came two days after a decree by the German bishops’ conference took effect, barring Catholics from…
No tax, no sacraments, decrees German Catholic Church
Germany’s Roman Catholics who refuse to pay a church tax will be barred from receiving the sacraments or becoming a godparent, under controversial new restrictions entering into force on Monday. In a move decried by a progressive Catholic group, the German bishops’ conference last week issued a decree, saying it…
Ultra-conservative evangelical churches gaining influence in Brazil
Roman Catholics are scrambling to shore up support among the faithful in Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic country, ahead of a visit next year by Pope Benedict XVI and amid a growing tide of conversions to Protestantism. Out of a Brazilian population of 191 million, 123.2 million define themselves as…
Gay priest defies Pope: Catholics should vote ‘no’ on Minnesota marriage ban
An openly gay priest on Sunday urged Catholics to go against the Pope’s wishes and vote “no” a November ballot measure that would enshrine Minnesota’s same sex marriage ban in the state’s Constitution. Father Bob Pierson argued that Paragraph 1782 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church allows Catholics to…
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