Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Marc Batchelor shot dead
Local
Catholic church
Vatican says laws cannot force priests to break seal of confession
In Australia, an inquiry into child abuse recommended that the country introduce a law forcing religious leaders to report child abuse, including priests told of it during confession.
-
Former Vatican treasurer appeals against abuse convictions
George Pell was jailed for six years after he was found guilty on five charges of abusing two boys, 13, while he was archbishop of Melbourne over 20 years ago.
-
Pope apologises to Roma for Catholic Church's 'discrimination'
Making up around 10% of Romania's 20 million people, many Roma are marginalised and live in poverty and have suffered centuries of discrimination and insults.
-
Gunmen kill six during Catholic mass in Burkina Faso
The gunmen then set fire to the church, several shops and a small cafe before heading to the local health centre, which they looted, burning the chief nurse's vehicle.
-
Film on Catholic priests using nuns as ‘sex slaves’ pulled
The big-budget media investigation, ‘Sex Slaves in the Catholic Church’, was broadcast in March and has been sold widely internationally since.
-
Pope leads Good Friday procession highlighting modern-day slaves' plight
The event spotlighted sex slaves 'used' but 'condemned by a society which refuses to see this kind of exploitation'.
-
Papal Good Friday service draws attention to world’s poor
The service is one of the few during the year where the pope does not give a sermon, leaving it to Father Raniero Cantalamessa, whose title is a preacher of the papal household.
-
MAP: The Notre-Dame Cathedral fire
A fire broke out at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday. This maps locates the centuries-old cathedral in Paris.
-
Ex-pope Benedict blames Church sex abuse crisis on '68
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, said the direct consequence was the 'collapse of the next generation of priests.'
-
Pope says church should admit history of abuse of women, male domination
The pope is grappling with criticism over the Church’s response to a decades-long clerical sexual abuse crisis that has gravely damaged its standing around the globe.
-
Catholic priests burn Harry Potter books in Poland
Launched in 1997, the 'Harry Potter' series of books spins an epic tale of good and evil focused on the adventures of the eponymous bespectacled young wizard as he struggles against the dark wizard Lord Voldemort.
-
Pope enacts new legislation to prevent child abuse in Vatican
Previously, the abuse of minors and vulnerable people came under various legal provisions, some of them instituted on an ad hoc basis.
-
Legal, but... abortion access under threat in Catholic Croatia
Under a 1978 law, passed when Croatia was part of the former Yugoslavia, abortion remains legal up to the 10th week of pregnancy.
-
Mexico demands apology for colonial 'abuses,' Spain says no
The 500-year-old wounds of the Spanish conquest were ripped open afresh on Monday when Mexico's president urged Spain and the Vatican to apologise for their 'abuses' - a request Madrid said it 'firmly rejects.'
-
Priest stabbed during mass at Canada's biggest church
The suspect was arrested at the Roman Catholic basilica shortly after the attack in front of 50 people and a television audience around 8:40 am, while priest Claude Grou was taken to hospital.
-
Former Vatican treasurer Pell jailed for 6 years for sexual attack on choir boys
County Court of Victoria Chief Judge Peter Kidd, who handed down the sentence in a live television broadcast, said there was a real possibility that at age 77, Pell could spend the rest of his life in prison.
-
Cardinal Pell in custody after abuse conviction
The 77-year-old is facing up to 50 years' jail after being convicted on five counts of sexual and indecent assault of two choirboys in the sacristy of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in 1996-97.
-
US state seeks abuse records from over 400 Catholic churches, institutions
The move comes amid a series of Catholic Church child abuse scandals in the US and other countries in recent years that have been marked by widespread allegations of cover-ups.
-
Top pope aide Cardinal Pell convicted of child sex crimes
His conviction is another hammer blow to the Church, which has struggled to convince the world it is serious about tackling widespread child abuse and paedophilia.
