Author – The Durango Herald

Pope rules out death penalty in change to church teaching

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has decreed that the death penalty is “inadmissible” under all circumstances and the Catholic Church should campaign to abolish it, a change in church teaching th...

DATE: Aug 2, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

U.S. nuns demand action to end ‘culture of silence’ on abuse

VATICAN CITY – The largest association of Roman Catholic nuns in the United States urged its members Monday to report any sexual abuse of religious sisters by clergy and demanded that church...

DATE: Jul 30, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Revelations of U.S. cardinal sex abuse will force pope’s hand

VATICAN CITY – Revelations that one of the most respected U.S. cardinals allegedly sexually abused both boys and adult seminarians have raised questions about who in the Catholic Church hier...

DATE: Jul 23, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope warns climate change turning Earth into desert, garbage

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis urged governments on Friday to make good on their commitments to curb global warming, warning that climate change, continued unsustainable development and rampant...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

U.S. returns 1493 Christopher Columbus letter to Vatican

VATICAN CITY – The United States returned to the Vatican Library Thursday a rare copy of a letter written by Christopher Columbus in 1493 announcing his discovery of the New World that was s...

DATE: Jun 14, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Vatican seeks ‘courageous’ ideas to combat priest shortage

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican called Friday for courageous proposals to cope with a shortage of priests in the Amazon, and said it wouldn’t rule out debate on whether married men could step in ...

DATE: Jun 11, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

LGBT community cheers pope’s ‘God made you like this’ remark

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ reported comments to a gay man that “God made you like this” have been embraced by the LGBT community as another sign of Francis’ desire to make gay people feel ...

DATE: May 21, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

After biggest gaffe, pope demands accountability for sex abuse

VATICAN CITY – Four months ago, Pope Francis dug himself into the biggest hole of his papacy by strongly defending a Chilean bishop accused by sex abuse victims of witnessing and ignoring th...

DATE: May 18, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Swiss Guards: World’s oldest standing army gets new headgear

VATICAN CITY – The world’s oldest standing army is getting some new headgear. The Swiss Guards plan to replace their metal helmets with plastic PVC ones made with a 3-D printer, g...

DATE: May 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope to Chile abuse victims: ‘I was part of the problem’

ROME – The three whistleblowers in Chile’s sex abuse scandal urged Pope Francis on Wednesday to transform his apology for having discredited them into concrete action to end what they called...

DATE: May 2, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Chile church sex abuse whistleblower from pariah to VIP

VATICAN CITY – The key whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse scandal has arrived in Rome for his audience with Pope Francis and said Tuesday he will urge the pope to get rid of the “to...

DATE: Apr 24, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion

Pope seeks ‘saints next door’ not doctrinaire perfectionists

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is calling for ordinary Catholics to live holy lives in whatever they do, stressing that the “saints next door” are more pleasing to God than religious elites who...

DATE: Apr 15, 2018 | CATEGORY: Religion