Buffalo, N.Y., Bishop Richard Malone stepped down this week after coming under fire for poorly handling allegations of sexual misconduct by clergy in the diocese. The Vatican and Pope Francis accepted Malone’s resignation, which came after calls from his staff, priests and the public for Malone to step down. Edward…
Tag: Catholic
Houston Archdiocese Challenges LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Laws in Foster Care Case
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas wants to become a foster care provider, but only if it is exempt from a federal rule preventing LGBTQ discrimination in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants. It filed a lawsuit alongside the Texas Attorney General challenging the law on the…
Proposed Labor Department Rule Would Grant Federal Contractor Employers Religious Exemption from Discrimination Claims
A proposed rule under President Trump’s Department of Labor would give certain federal contractors the right to discriminate against people based on religious views. The proposal caused an uproar after the Labor Department announced it earlier this month, mainly because the implications of the rule would likely disproportionately affect LGBTQ…
Archived: Mormons Consider Ending Relationship With Boy Scouts
Following an executive committee meeting proposing to end a ban on gay troop leaders, the Boy Scouts of America’s national executive board voted on Monday in favor of officially lifting the ban “effective immediately,” according to the BSA’s website. The proposed new policy received criticism prior to the national executive…
Archived: Catholic Bishop Compares Homosexuality to Spina Bifida, Down Syndrome
By Michael Nam On the Irish radio program Newstalk Breakfast, a Catholic bishop expressed some harsh sounding views of gays and gay parents, in particular. The Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran, insisted that the ideal model for parenting involved a mother and a father. When pressed on the fact that…
Archived: Pope Francis: Is Civil Union for Catholics Possible
By Julissa Catalan In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Pope Francis hinted that the Catholic Church could soon accept a type of civil union for LGBT couples. “We have to look at different cases and evaluate them in their variety,” he said. “States, for instance, justify civil unions as…
Archived: Latino Political Divide Increases With Changing Religious Beliefs
By Chris Hoenig Photo by Shutterstock In less than one generation, the religious profile of Latinos in the United States has shifted, and it only appears to be hurting the GOP’s plan to win the Latino vote. In a new study from the Public Religion Research Institute and National Institute…
Archived: Pope Francis Softens Stance Toward LGBT Community
By Chris Hoenig Cardinal Timothy Dolan is backing Pope Francis’s comments about gay priests as a “change in tone or emphasis” toward the LGBT community. In a nearly 90-minute news conference on his flight back from Brazil, the Pope spoke openly and directly about a subject the Catholic Church has…