Germany German priest found dead after being suspended over abuse allegations The diocese in Limburg said the news had "hit them hard" and "raises many questions". 10/06/2022
Germany Church convicts Catholic ex-priest of abusing boy for several years The man was ordered to pay 10% of his income to a charity that supports victims of abuse. 07/06/2022
no comment Christians celebrate Good Friday Catholics celebrate Good Friday with masses and processions. 15/04/2022
Portugal Probe into Portuguese church sex abuse receives nearly 300 claims A panel that began its inquiry in January has received witness statements from 290 alleged victims, with cases involving children as young as two years old. 12/04/2022
Spain Holy Week call for recognition from gay men in Andalucia Members of Spanish brotherhoods who dress Virgin Mary floats for Holy Week accuse religious leaders of hypocrisy over their sexuality. 10/04/2022
See Meet the gay stylists playing a key role in Spain’s Holy Week Despite being heavily involved in the most famous, theatrical and rapturous Holy Week in the world, the LGBT+ community in southern Spain are continually relegated to the margins 08/04/2022
Canada Pope apologises for 'deplorable' abuse of Canadian indigenous people More than 150,000 native children in Canada were forced to attend Christian schools from the 19th century until the 1970s. 01/04/2022
Spain Spain approves investigation into sexual abuse within Catholic Church The Spanish clergy has long been criticised for its failure to investigate allegations of sexual violence. 10/03/2022
Germany German court convicts Catholic Church priest of abusing children The 70-year-old was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay victims €50,000 in damages. 25/02/2022
Italy Abuse survivors demand inquiry into Italian Catholic Church Advocates for victims of sex abuse by Italian clergy launched a campaign on Tuesday to demand an inquiry into the scope of the problem. 15/02/2022
Portugal More than 200 allegations of sex abuse in Portuguese Catholic Church An independent committee was set up in January to examine historical sex abuse. 10/02/2022
Vatican Ex-pope asks for pardon over sex abuse scandal but denies wrongdoing A recent report found that Pope Benedict had failed to handle cases of sexual abuse at the Munich diocese. 08/02/2022
Spain Spain moves closer to investigation into Catholic Church sex abuse Spain's Bishops Conference has now refused an official inquiry into allegations of priest abuse. 01/02/2022
Spain Spain: Left-wing parties call for inquiry commission into church abuse The call by Podemos, ERC (The Republican Left of Catalonia), and EH Bildu (Euskal Herria Bildu) follows a 3-year newspaper investigation and similar inquiries in other European countries. 27/01/2022
Vatican Vatican defends Pope Benedict XVI over fighting clergy sexual abuse The Vatican's comments followed the publication of an independent report that faulted Benedict's handling of four cases of abuse when he was archbishop of Munich in Germany. 27/01/2022
Vatican Ex-Pope Benedict XVI admits attending meeting about abusive priest The retired Pope had denied attending the meeting to the investigators but says his statement had mistakes in it due to editing "oversight". 24/01/2022
Vatican Pope Francis pledges justice for sex abuse victims after Munich report A lawyers' report found that Benedict XVI had mishandled four cases of sexual abuse in the clergy while archbishop of Munich. 21/01/2022
Italy 'Horrendous': Catholic Church slams swastika-draped coffin at funeral The swastika-emblazoned Nazi flag was branded “a horrendous symbol irreconcilable with Christianity". 11/01/2022
Vatican Pope Francis says COVID-19 vaccination is a 'moral obligation' Francis also lamented that increasing "ideological divides" were discouraging people from getting vaccinated. 10/01/2022
Culture news Spain's youngest bishop stripped of powers for marrying erotica author Xavier Novell may be an example of nominative determinism after having been professionally undone by that particular literary form. 13/12/2021
Italy Italian diocese apologises after bishop says Santa doesn't exist A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily apologised after reports emerged that a bishop had told children that Santa did not exist. 11/12/2021
Greece Pope blasts 'shipwreck of civilisation' on Lesbos migrant camp visit "Please, let us stop this shipwreck of civilisation!" Francis said as he visited a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. 05/12/2021
Greece Europe 'torn by nationalist egoism' on migration, says Pope The pope's trip to the region has focused on the plight of asylum-seekers as some European nations harden their border control policies. 04/12/2021
Portugal Catholic Church in Portugal urges sex abuse victims to come forward Only a dozen allegations of sexual abuse involving Portuguese priests have been investigated by authorities since 2001 - more than half of those were dropped. 03/12/2021
France Paris archbishop who had 'ambiguous' relationship resigns Pope Francis on Thursday accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Paris, who unexpectedly offered to step down last week after admitting to an “ambiguous” relationship with a woman in 2012. 03/12/2021
Cyprus Pope to meet Cyprus' Orthodox leader to strengthen ties Pope Francis plans to meet with the leader of Cyprus’ Greek Orthodox Church with the aim of further mending an ideological and political rift between the Catholic West and the Orthodox East that dates back nearly a millennium. 03/12/2021
