(Reuters) - In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer" and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly of 200 bishops on the family, said the Church should challenge ( Read more... )

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Hans Küng fought his whole life for the reforms being weighed by the Vatican today. In a SPIEGEL interview, the elderly Swiss theologian discusses Pope Francis' chances to revolutionize the church, why John Paul II shouldn't be canonized and what he hopes to learn in heaven.Swiss theologian Hans Küng has been a voice for reform in the Catholic ( Read more... )

The American Civil Liberties Union has decided to go directly to the source of its unhappiness with the way women are treated in Catholic hospitals. It's suing the nation's Catholic bishops.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan have filed suit in Federal Court in Michigan charging that the United Conference of Catholic Bishops forces hospitals to ( Read more... )

The leader of the Catholic Church has been quietly sneaking out of the Vatican at night to minister to homeless residents, according to a new report ( Read more... )

In case there was any doubt left, Pope Francis made it clear that he shares little in common with U.S. conservatives.

The pontiff released his Evangelii Gadium, or Joy of the Gospel, attacking capitalism as a form of tyranny and calling on church and political leaders to address the needs of the poor.

( 'As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems,” the pope said in the 224-page document that essentially serves as his official platform.' )

Late last summer, two ultra-conservative Louisiana Catholics, Rayland Alleman and William Gil, got their 15 minutes of fame when they published a blog post entitled “Six Reasons to Not Send Your Daughter to College.” The essay charged that, among other things, institutions of higher education foster experimentation and openness to both new ideas ( Read more... )

Catholic Hospitals Grow, and With Them Questions of Care ( Read more... )

Pope Francis Excommunicates Australian Priest Who Advocated For Gay Marriage And Female ClergyThe Huffington Post | By Hunter Stuart ( Read more... )

Pope Francis’ remarks Monday to reporters suggesting that he would not bar the priesthood from a gay man who “searches for the Lord and has good will” does not represent a significant change in the Catholic Church’s position, two diocesan priests said Monday ( Read more... )