Lutherans, Catholics bury hatchet for Reformation’s 500th
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Lutherans and Catholics have pledged to celebrate together the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, with both sides agreeing to set aside centuries of hostility...
View ArticleExcerpts from Pope Francis’ explosive new interview
(RNS) — In a lengthy, wide-ranging interview with journalists from his own Jesuit order, Pope Francis makes a number of stunningly frank comments that are likely to rattle the church and to cement his...
View ArticleBenedict XVI emerges to defend his record on sexual abuse
ROME (RNS) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, responding Sept. 24 to a noted atheist mathematician and philosopher who had criticized his handling of sexual abuse scandals, released a long letter that...
View ArticleCatholic chaplains given marching orders barring service to gay couples
(RNS) — Catholic military chaplains cannot be forced to witness or bless a same-sex marriage, nor are they allowed to take part in any marriage counseling retreats that are open to gay couples under...
View ArticleAfter decline, Catholics see rise in number of future priests
WASHINGTON (RNS) — After decades of glum trends — fewer priests, fewer parishes — the Catholic Church in the United States has a new statistic to cheer: More men are now enrolled in graduate level...
View ArticleExcerpts from Pope Francis’ (second) explosive interview
(RNS) — Pope Francis has done it again: Just two weeks after the publication of a lengthy, detailed interview in which he expounded on his new vision for the church he has given another interview, this...
View ArticlePope Francis fires warning shot at church’s ‘top-down’ bureaucracy
(RNS) — Pope Francis has once again given a startlingly candid interview that reinforces his vision of a Catholic Church that engages the world and helps the poor rather than pursuing culture wars, and...
View ArticleVatican urges slowdown in rush to reform
ROME (RNS) — Pope Francis has earned headlines worldwide with his reform-minded comments on any number of topics, from the church being “obsessed” with divisive issues like abortion and homosexuality...
View ArticleNazi SS captain denied church funeral in Rome
ROME (RNS) — Catholic churches here have joined government officials in three countries to deny a public funeral for Erich Priebke, the unrepentant Nazi war criminal who died at age 100 in Rome Oct....
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ILC talks with LWF, Catholics
By Adriane Heins Following closely on the heels of the 496th celebration of the Reformation, leaders from two prominent pan-Lutheran organizations met Nov. 12-13 in Wittenberg, Germany — where Martin...
View ArticleMarch for Life reaches new group: evangelicals
(RNS) — Evangelicals are the most likely religious group to say that abortion should be illegal in all cases. So why would organizers of the March for Life, the annual demonstration on the Washington...
View ArticleSan Francisco archbishop defends decision to join rally
(RNS) — The Catholic bishops’ point man on opposing same-sex marriage defended his decision to take part in the March for Marriage in Washington, saying support for traditional man-woman marriage is...
View ArticleBaptizing children of gay couples — new battleground?
(RNS) — Despite numerous controversies over dismissing gay Catholics from church posts and the U.S. hierarchy’s campaign against same-sex marriage, Catholic leaders have carefully, if quietly, avoided...
View ArticleParents of beheaded journalist drawing on faith
(RNS) — They’ve done this before. Once again, John and Diane Foley appeared on national television Aug. 20, to speak in clear and deliberate voices about their son, conflict journalist James Foley —...
View ArticleVatican stuns Catholic world with greater openness toward gays
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The world’s Catholic bishops Oct. 13 signaled a move toward greater tolerance of gays and lesbians, an about-face so unexpected that leaders of the church’s right wing called it a...
View ArticleCardinals: Vatican isn’t changing teaching on gays, divorced Catholics
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A day after signaling a warmer embrace of gays and lesbians and divorced Catholics, conservative cardinals hit back strongly Oct. 14, with one insisting that an abrupt about-face...
View ArticleArchbishop Chaput blasts Vatican debate on family
NEW YORK (RNS) — Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, a leading culture warrior in the U.S. hierarchy, says he was “very disturbed” by the debate over church teachings on gays and remarried...
View ArticlePope Francis: ‘Evolution … is not inconsistent with the notion of creation’
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis on Monday (Oct. 27) waded into the controversial debate over the origins of human life, saying the big bang theory did not contradict the role of a divine creator, but...
View ArticleVatican ethicist: No dignity in Maynard’s physician-assisted death
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Vatican’s top ethicist condemned Brittany Maynard’s decision to end her life, saying there was no dignity in her physician-assisted death. Maynard, 29, took a lethal...
View ArticleWe Are Lutherans. What Does This Mean?
by Jordan McKinley On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. This is a significant day in Church history, which we often think of as the beginning of...
View ArticleCatholic Church losing ground in Latin America
MIAMI (RNS) — In just one generation, Latin America has seen the number of people who identify themselves as Catholic plummet, with more people becoming Protestant or dropping religion altogether, a...
View ArticleSan Francisco priest bars altar girls
(RNS) — A Catholic priest who recently took charge of a San Francisco parish has said only boys can be altar servers, a move that is sparking both criticism and praise and comes amid a wider debate...
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Jean Vanier wins Templeton Prize
(RNS) — Jean Vanier, an advocate for people with developmental disabilities who helped create an international network of residential communities that champion the rights of their residents, has won...
View ArticleCatholic bishops: ‘Racism is an evil’ in society, church
ST. LOUIS — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops kicked off a gathering here of approximately 250 of the nation’s bishops by referring to Ferguson. “We mourn those tragic events in...
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Gay Scout leader rejected by Catholic parish
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Boy Scouts of America voted in July to end its ban on openly gay adult leaders. Greg Bourke, before he was forced to resign from Boy Scout leadership in 2012. (Courtesy of Sam...
View ArticleVatican backs plan to name Rome square for Martin Luther
ROME (RNS) — The Vatican has given its backing to a central Rome square being named after Martin Luther, a church reformer excommunicated by the pope nearly 500 years ago. A German Catholic priest and...
View ArticlePope calls for ‘revolution of tenderness’ in Cuba
SANTIAGO DE CUBA — Streams of hopefuls traveled overnight, on buses and motorbikes, arriving under nightfall early Tuesday, Sept. 22, morning for a chance to see the pope on his last day in Cuba. Pope...
View ArticleAnalysis: Pope Francis reassures U.S., ‘I’m a Catholic, not a communist!’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Pope Francis touched down in Washington on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 22, after a historic visit to Cuba, the first Latin American pope in history on his first trip to the U.S....
View ArticleN.J. archbishop sets rules for Communion
ROME (RNS) — Even as Pope Francis and Catholic leaders from around the world debate ways to make the Catholic Church more inclusive, Newark Archbishop John Myers has given his priests strict guidelines...
View ArticleWho won? Who lost? Five points on Vatican summit
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The most significant and contested gathering of Roman Catholic bishops in the last 50 years formally ended Sunday, Oct. 25, after three weeks of debate and dispute, but the...
View ArticleCommentary: Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’ survivors deserve access to Vatican archives
(RNS) — The announcement that Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to open its archives from the era of Argentina’s “Dirty War” prompted hope for many that the light of justice could finally shine on...
View ArticlePoll: Only 50 percent of Italians call themselves Catholic
ROME (RNS) — Italy may be the spiritual home of 1.2 billion members of the Catholic Church around the world, but a new poll shows only 50 percent of Italians consider themselves Catholic. The poll,...
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Luther’s Catholic Reformation
Photograph from the dedication of The International Lutheran Center at the Old Latin School on Sunday, May 3, 2015, in Wittenberg, Germany. LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford by Alan Ludwig Some...
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Oct. 30 ‘Interdenominational Conversation’ to address tough Reformation...
Participating in “The Reformation at 500: An Interdenominational Conversation” — along with LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison — will be Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, left, of the Archdiocese of...
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From throwing rocks to linking arms
by Tom Raabe I grew up in a subculture where anti-Catholicism was assumed — it was in the air we conservative Lutherans breathed and the water we drank. The time was the late 1950s and early 1960s, and...
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Views on grace
Article by Andrew Preus, Jeffrey Ries and Brian Flamme Denominations in Christianity view grace in a variety of ways. See how the Scripture-based understanding Lutherans have of grace compares with...
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Juan de Frías, Lutheran martyr of Venezuela
An auto-da-fé of the Spanish Inquisition: the burning of heretics in a marketplace. Wood engraving by H.D. Linton after Bocourt after T. Robert-Fleury. (Public domain) By Rev. Dr. Rudolph Blank...
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