The "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" at an "LGBT pride" march in 1995. / Joe Mabel|Wikipedia|GFDLWashington D.C., Jun 2, 2023 / 16:20 pm (CNA).The Los Angeles Dodgers, it turns out, are not the first MLB team to find themselves in hot water over an invitation to the drag group calling itself the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence." Almost 28 years ago, the owner of the San Francisco Giants wrote a letter of apology to the Catholic League for hosting the drag group on the field before a game, according to correspondence the Catholic League shared with CNA on Friday.In a letter dated Aug. 28, 1995, Catholic League President William Donohue raised his concerns with Giants owner Peter Magowan, who died in 2019, that the pregame ceremony designed to raise AIDS awareness "also seemed to open the door to anti-Catholicism."In response, Magowan expressed regret for the inclusion of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the event, saying "their a
null / Credit: Emiliano Arruabarrena/CathopicACI Prensa Staff, Jun 2, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA).The Catholic Church in Spain on June 1 presented the report "To shed light," which tallies 927 complaints of alleged sexual abuse of minors under 18 years of age or vulnerable people that occurred from 1945 to 2022.The report does not include situations involving the abuse of conscience and power or committed against adults.The report was "prepared from the testimonies that have been collected in the offices [of the protection of minors and abuse prevention], without assuming or proving innocence or guilt."The Spanish Bishops Conference (CEE) also acknowledged that in the account it presented "it s possible that there are some duplications of testimonies."The complaints indicate 728 alleged perpetrators including 170 diocesan priests and 208 ordained religious, 234 non-ordained men and women religious, one deacon, 92 laypeople, and 23 people whose state is unknown.
The cross of the German "Synodal Way." / Maximilian von Lachner / Synodaler WegACI Prensa Staff, Jun 2, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA).Birgit Kelle, spokeswoman for the German lay group Neuer Anfang (New Beginning) in a May 29 interview with EWTN Noticias explained that its members reject the Synodal Path initiated by the Church in Germany because they want to "remain Catholic."This lay initiative was started two years ago, when the bishops and various lay leaders in Germany had already embarked on the controversial Synodal Path.Organized by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and the German Bishops Conference, the Synodal Way began in 2019.In March of this year, it approved measures to incorporate gender ideology into Catholic teaching, the ordination of women as deaconesses, the blessing of homosexual unions, the normalization of lay preaching at Mass, and a request that the Vatican "re-examine" the discipline of priestly celibacy.Kelle told EWTN Not
Flag of Mexico. / Credit: David Ramos/ACI PrensaACI Prensa Staff, Jun 3, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).Recent episodes of violence against the Catholic Church, including the murder of a priest and the attempted murder of an archbishop, once again bring to the fore the persecution of the faith in Mexico and the power of organized crime.On May 22, Augustinian priest Javier García Villafañe was found shot to death in his car on the Cuitzeo-Huandacareo highway. The Michoacán state attorney general s office stated that he "was killed by several gunshots."Days before, an 80-year-old assailant tried to stab to death the archbishop of Durango, Faustino Armendáriz, in the cathedral sacristy after Mass was finished. Fortunately, the prelate was barely injured in the failed attempt.In addition, in recent weeks there have been various cases of desecration and sacrilege in different churches in the country.Is Mexico still a Catholic country?In a May 25 interview with CNA s Spanish-language ne
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter s Basilica, presides over a penitential rite on June 3, 2023, two days after a Polish man stripped naked and stood on the basilica s high altar. / Vatican MediaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 3, 2023 / 08:04 am (CNA).Two days after a naked man stood on the high altar of St. Peter s Basilica in a shocking security breach, the basilica s archpriest on Saturday reconsecrated the altar during a penitential rite as required by canon law in cases where sacred places are desecrated.Vatican News reported that the unidentified man was a Polish national who approached the high altar on June 1 as the basilica was about to close. He quickly undressed, and climbed onto the altar. Photos posted online showed the words "Save children of Ukraine" written in marker on his back."As officers of the Vatican Gendarmerie approached, the man did not resist but cooperated as they led him to the police station inside the Vatican," the Vatican