News of church

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.

Long read: Church Abuse

Disgraced religious order tried to get abuse victim to lie

17-02-2020 16:04 The church went through great lengths to hide the truth that Reverend Reséndiz sexually abused a Venezuelan child, among others.

CHURCH ABUSE SCANDALS

Deaf Próvolo child abuse victims accuse Pope Francis of inaction

13-02-2020 14:49 The victims, represented by the global organisation Ending Clergy Abuse, have requested a public audience with the Argentine pontiff.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope voices 'outrage' over Amazon exploitation

12-02-2020 12:35 In a highly anticipated text, Argentine pontiff on Wednesday pleaded for social justice and environmental respect for the Amazon basin – but failed to recommend the controversial idea of married priests.

Dueling Popes

Seven years after stepping down, Benedict fuels 'two popes' headache

11-02-2020 13:10 The "emeritus" Pope Benedict XVI, who is a co-author on an upcoming book that decries the topic of married priests, has created tension in the unprecedented situation at the Vatican.

CHURCH SCANDALS

Pope defrocks Argentine priest for sexual misconduct, abuse of power

10-02-2020 22:57 Pontiff moves against Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, after a four-year investigation determined he had sex with adults under his authority, absolved them of the sin during confession and otherwise abused his power.

ABORTION DEBATE

Government aims at legalisation, Church challenges abortion plan

07-02-2020 20:44 While the government looks to forward to the legalisation and decriminalisation of abortion, Archbishop Emeritus of La Plata Héctor Aguer challenged the Fernández administration: "Let's see if they get the votes.”

Catholic Church Abuse

Pope defrocks fellow Argentine priest Roberto Yannuzzi

05-02-2020 15:27 Yannuzzi stands accused of abusing his power by having sex with adults under his authority.

Diplomacy

María Fernanda Silva to be Argentina's new ambassador to Vatican

30-01-2020 14:41 Catholic and the first Afro-descendant woman of the Argentine foreign service, according to local reports, Silva will be the first woman to occupy the role.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope's new aide is Uruguayan priest who worked with street kids

27-01-2020 11:50 Argentine pontiff has known the Reverend Gonzalo Aemilius since 2006 when Francis was then archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Vatican controversy

Retired Pope Benedict distances himself from book on priest celibacy

14-01-2020 16:38 Pope Benedict XVI's co-authorship of new book defending priestly celibacy, despite failed attempt to remove name from cover, creates tension in the Vatican.

CHURCH SCANDAL

Church sex abuse scandal deepens with La Plata priest’s suicide

21-12-2019 10:36 The recent suicide of Eduardo Lorenzo and the alleged cover-up surrounding possible decades of abuse sparks renewed discussion about the crisis of the Catholic Church in Argentina and around the world.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Vatican office lifts veil, revealing vast caseload of abuse claims

20-12-2019 17:28 Unprecedented numbers of reports flood the Vatican's central offices. The tribunal is already straining to keep up, and cases from a slough of new regions indicate that this recent surge is only the tip of the iceberg.

Church Sex Abuse Scandal

Pope Francis strips 'pontificial secrecy' from abuse-related cases in the Church

17-12-2019 13:55 While documentation from the Church's in-house legal proceedings will still not become public, the reform removes any excuse to not cooperate with legitimate legal requests from prosecutors, police or other civil authorities.

Transition 2019

Health Ministry veteran González García to return, confirms Fernández

04-12-2019 17:07 Ginés González García will serve for a third time as nation's health minister, president-elect confirms – and he says he will reinstate the abortion protocol struck down last month by President Macri.

Military Dictatorship

Archbishop Miguel Hesayne dies aged 96

02-12-2019 17:05 The archbishop of Viedma was known for his refusal to become "complicit" in the military junta's abuses during the brutal 1976-1983 military dictatorship.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Legal reckoning: New abuse suits could cost Catholic Church over US$4 billion

02-12-2019 12:59 Catholic dioceses in the United States are facing a new wave of sexual abuse lawsuits after multiple states extended or suspended the statute of limitations to allow claims stretching back decades.

PRÓVOLO ABUSE TRIAL

‘Survivors, not victims’ – ex-Próvolo students finally find justice in court

30-11-2019 10:50 Celebrations in Mendoza as two Catholic priests accused of sexually assaulting and raping students at Antonio Próvolo Institute for the deaf are sentenced to over 40 years in prison.

by Carly Graf

Film review

‘The Two Popes’ proves to be charming buddy movie in vestments

29-11-2019 06:00 Director Fernando Meirelles imagines a meeting between the two popes, Benedict and Francis, before the German decided to resign the papacy. It arrives December 1 on Netflix.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDALS

Bishop appears at court in Orán for hearing on abuse charges

27-11-2019 16:57 Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta returns to Argentina from the Vatican to attend hearing on sexual abuse charges.

Church Sex Abuse Scandal

Vatican still refusing to expel priests condemned in Próvolo case

27-11-2019 12:41 Convictions and sentencing of two priests for rape and sexual abuse of minors reignites controversy around Holy See's protection of members of the Catholic Church facing such allegations, many of whom continue to be supported by the institution.

by Mariana Sarramea

Abortion debate

Ex-ambassador to the Vatican: 'Abortion will be legal in Argentina'

27-11-2019 08:00 Mercosur Parliament lawmaker Eduardo Valdés says he finds the debate over the legalisation of abortion to be “archaic” and predicts it will be legalised in the coming years.

CHURCH SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

Próvolo victims hope priests' sentences send Pope a message

27-11-2019 07:25 "This is a watershed case for society, justice, the victims and also for the Church," warns bishop, as victims demand Pope Francis take note of historic abuse case at Provólo Institute in Luján de Cuyo.

'PRÓVOLO' CASE

Priests who sexually abused deaf children get 40-year jail terms

25-11-2019 14:46 Mendoza court sentences Nicola Corradi to 42 years in prison and Horacio Corbacho to 45 years for sexually abusing deaf children at the Antonio Próvolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children.

CHURCH ABUSE SCANDALS

Verdict nears for Próvolo priests as Church struggles to deal with abuse scandals

25-11-2019 08:58 Pope Francis’ homeland faces a complicated week of reckoning with the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church.

CATHOLIC CHURCH & ABUSE

Próvolo case: Legal team expects justice for Church sex abuse victim

23-11-2019 11:38 In this exclusive report from Mendoza, Carly Graf meets lawyers from Xumek, the NGO representing plaintiffs in the shocking ‘Próvolo’ scandal, in which two priests stand accused of the rape and sexual assault of minors at an institute for deaf children in Mendoza.

by Carly Graf

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Argentine bishop accused of abuse slams prosecutors for seeking arrest order

22-11-2019 10:26 Gustavo Zanchetta has been formally accused of "aggravated continuous sexual abuse” of two seminarians, charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

RELIGION IN ARGENTINA

Catholicism on the decline in Argentina, says CONICET study

20-11-2019 23:50 Almost 63% of Argentines identify as Catholics today, compared to 76.5% in 2008.

TRIAL IN MENDOZA

Verdicts for Próvolo priests accused of sexually abusing deaf children due Monday

20-11-2019 13:30 Lawyers ask for sentences of up to 50 years in the 'Próvolo' abuse case, in which two priests and a gardener are accused of rape and sexual assault of minors at institute for deaf children in Mendoza.

ARGENTINE PONTIFF

Pope demands tech companies prevent kids from viewing porn

14-11-2019 12:45 Pope says tech companies should assume a moral responsibility to protect young people from what he said were the ruinous effects of pornography on their emotional and sexual development.

VATICAN CEREMONY

Argentine, British bishops exchange statuettes of Our Lady of Luján at Vatican

30-10-2019 13:23 Pope Francis appeared to wipe away tears on Wednesday, during an emotional ceremony that saw Argentina and Britain make powerful gesture of reconciliation, 37 years on from the war between the two nations.

Health and Wellness

Studying, meditation, therapy? Finding a way through Argentina's crisis

15-10-2019 18:02 With presidential elections looming and an the economic downturn dragging on, many are finding their own ways of coping with mental stress.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope Francis' bodyguard resigns over leak scandal

14-10-2019 11:50 Argentine pontiff said to be furious over publication of internal police notice which featured the photographs of five Vatican employees – including two senior figures – targeted in a probe reportedly into a real estate deal.

RELIGION

Evangelical churches gain ground in crisis-hit Argentina

12-10-2019 11:30 Evangelicalism is on the rise in once staunchly Catholic Argentina, with some 5,000 churches now registered in Buenos Aires alone.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Married priests debate raises fears of split in Catholic Church

10-10-2019 08:29 Suggestion that married men should be allowed to become priests in remote locations is bitterly dividing a Vatican assembly on the Amazon, with critics warning the emotive issue could fracture the Catholic Church.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope seeks 'courageous' debate over Amazon priest shortage

08-10-2019 16:44 Argentine pontiff opens a three-week meeting on preserving the rainforest and ministering to its native people as he fended off attacks from conservatives who are opposed to his ecological agenda.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope's upcoming visit to Thailand will come with a family reunion

15-09-2019 11:16 Sister Ana Rosa Sivori, originally from Buenos Aires, shares a great-grandfather with Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who, six years ago, became Pope Francis. So, she and the pontiff are second cousins. Next month, the two will come face-to-face... in Thailand.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Pope describes attacks by US Catholic critics as 'an honour'

04-09-2019 15:57 The ultra-conservative wing of the church in the United States frequently takes aim at Francis, saying he is not outspoken enough on abortion, too compassionate towards homosexuals and divorcees, and too accommodating towards Muslims.

ECONOMIC CRISIS

Church leaders ask Macri to strengthen food assistance for poor

27-08-2019 17:08 President Mauricio Macri and Church leaders agree to "strengthen efforts to provide food assistance" to the poor and look beyond "political speculation," amid the ongoing economic crisis.

CHURCH SCANDAL

Priests accused of abusing deaf students stand trial

10-08-2019 12:31 Nicola Corradi, 83, and Horacio Corbacho, 59, are charged with alleged crimes including rape and sexual abuse against deaf minors.

CHURCH ABUSE SCANDAL

Victims speak out as Próvolo Institute abuse trial begins in Mendoza

10-08-2019 12:17 Some 20 ex-students say they were sexually abused, including cases of rape, by two priests between 2004 and 2016. On Monday, two Catholic priests stood in the dock in Mendoza, charged with 28 alleged crimes, including rape and sexual abuse.