The NY Times reports that in a major reversal the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that it had placed 21 priests on administrative leave from active ministry in connection with credible charges that they had sexually abused minors According to the Times The announcement Tuesday was a majo

The U S Conference of Catholic Bishops has challenged some of the sharp reductions in social spending being considered for the 2011 federal budget Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton California chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development in a March 4 letter to the U S

With the world distracted by the escalating conflict in Libya and increasing tensions throughout the Arab world has Khartoum begun an effort to undermine the peace with the newly independent South Sudan and force a fait accompli for possession of the disputed Abyei province Yesterday the the Satel

Jesuits in Malta are calling for an international response to protect civilians in Libya and to assist in the evacuation of sub-Saharan nationals whose governments have been unable or unwilling to remove their citizens from dangerous conditions amid the chaos in Libya Responding to the use of deadl

Archbishop Silvano M Tomasi the nbsp Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva issued a statement on the requirement of religious freedom that is especially pertinent in light of the assassination March 1 of Pakistani Minorities

Rocco Palma walks us through the sorry story emerging out of Phillie after a devastating grand jury report and the implications of today s announcement from Cardinal Rigali at Whispers in the Loggia Over the six days since a second Philadelphia grand jury released a damning report that charged four

Over at Politics Daily Dave Gibson tries to unravel with as straight a face as he can manage the sorry tale of Father Thomas Euteneuer the charismatic leader of Human Life International whose fall from grace has been rapid and spectacular Father Tom s side gig as roving exorcist apparently got

Commenting on the legacy of coverup and abuse emerging out of the mess in Philadelphia The New York Times calls for a suspension of the statue of limitations for sex abuse claims nbsp These are not the first accusations against the Philadelphia Archdiocese A blistering grand-jury report in 2005

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan blasted as ludicrous an attorney s claim that his former diocese in Milwaukee moved 130 million to avoid paying sex abuse settlements See more at MSNBC