Delegates of the United Methodist Church, America's second-largest Protestant denomination, Tuesday rejected a move to ease the faith's ban on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy.
The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchy's credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up.
At least 28 priests are credibly accused of having sexually abused more than 100 boys and girls while working for a Roman Catholic diocese in Iowa, church officials announced Monday.
Pope Francis closed out his summit on preventing clergy sex abuse by vowing to confront abusers with "the wrath of God." But his failure to offer a concrete action plan to hold bishops accountable when they failed to protect their flocks from predators disappointed survivors.
Hebda says the archdiocese's "crisis" has led to restorative practices involving lay people that regional and national church organizations should consider.
Catholic leaders from around the world are gathered at the Vatican today for the start of a four-day summit on clergy sex abuse.
MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Frank Meuers about his expectations for the summit. Meuers leads the Minnesota chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.
American Catholics have become disappointed as Pope Francis described the meeting as featuring "prayer and discernment" — hardly an ambitious vision for what could have been a momentous event.
Rallies against anti-Semitism attracted crowds of thousands in Paris and other French cities Tuesday following a series of aggressive acts with Jewish targets, including a cemetery where about 80 gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas overnight.
For centuries, racism flourished in the American church. Has anything really changed? Jemar Tisby, the author of the new book "The Color of Compromise" says no. He believes white supremacy is still alive in the church. It's just gone underground.