Jon Stewart’s Not Buying What the Vatican’s Selling

Staff / Truthdig Apr 8, 2010 As allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members continue to challenge the church, the Vatican, according to a visibly agitated Jon Stewart, has failed to respond appropriately, instead adopting a victim stance with the Western media as its persecutor. Quick -- cue the kitten footage! Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Vatican Preacher Compares Backlash Over Clergy Abuse Scandal to Anti-Semitism

Staff / Truthdig Apr 3, 2010 Note to the Vatican: Adopting the mantle of victimhood in the face of accusations of sexual abuse by clergy members and attempted cover-ups by other church officials is not bound to go over very well with the public -- especially if parallels are drawn to the persecution of the Jews. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Vatican: Pope Has Immunity in Abuse Cases

Staff / Truthdig Apr 1, 2010 On Thursday, the Vatican's top legal official pointed out that Pope Benedict XVI won't be implicated in any of the sex abuse cases currently under investigation, as he is technically a head of state. Also, the Vatican would like The New York Times to "reconsider its attack mode" regarding the pope. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pope to Pen a Letter Addressing Sex Abuse Scandal

Staff / Truthdig Mar 17, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI's official investigators at the Vatican have been inundated with claims of abuse by Catholic priests and nuns, all to be handled by a small team of 10 at the Holy See's in-house operation To offset some of the public discontent, the pope is writing (continued). Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Vatican Exorcist Sees Satan’s Work in Sex Scandals

Staff / Truthdig Mar 11, 2010 It would make sense that the Vatican would have an official head exorcist, and indeed it does. He's 85-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, and after wrangling many an unclean spirit in his time, he now has a book out with the catchy title "Memoirs of an Exorcist" and thinks he's seen you-know-who in the details of recent sex scandals in the Holy See. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Irish Bishops Called on the Carpet

Staff / Truthdig Feb 15, 2010 The long-running clergy sexual abuse scandal within Dublin's Archdiocese is still the Catholic Church's problem, and on Monday, Pope Benedict XVI met with Irish bishops for the first part of a two-day strategy and damage-control session at the Vatican. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Report: Irish Catholic Church Kept Child Abuse Secret

Staff / Truthdig Nov 28, 2009 According to a newly released report commissioned by the Irish government, the Archdiocese of Dublin and other Catholic authorities in Ireland kept hundreds of complaints concerning the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy covered up (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Lutheran Organization Votes to Include Monogamous Gay Clergy Members

Staff / Truthdig Aug 22, 2009 The largest Lutheran organization in the U.S., the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, voted Friday to bring gay and lesbian clergy members into its fold -- provided they are in committed relationships -- signaling another seismic shift in the American Protestant scene this year. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Holocaust Bishop’ Ordered to Recant

Staff / Truthdig Feb 4, 2009 With a media-dubbed moniker that doesn't look good for either party, the "Holocaust Bishop" -- a British bishop recently un-excommunicated by the pope -- is being told by the Vatican to recant his views after news broke that he "believe[s] there were no gas chambers [during World War II]." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pope Preaches About America’s Hope and Pain

Staff / Truthdig Apr 17, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass Thursday in a venue different from his customary surroundings, leading a service at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium on the latest stop of his American tour. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Send In the Clergy!

Staff / Truthdig Aug 21, 2007 KSLA News of Shreveport, La., is standing by its report on "Clergy Response Teams," trained by the federal government to pacify an angry citizenry in the event of martial law. The idea being, as far as we can tell, that religious leaders are ideally suited to the task of explaining to people why they should give up their freedom for the "better good." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

An Agnostic for President — and a Woman at That

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 12, 2005 How refreshing that there is one democratic nation — Chile — where a leading candidate has the courage to suggest that the impact of the clergy has not always added to enlightenment, particularly as to the place of women in society. Jefferson lives. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )