Pope Francis calls for day of fasting for Syria
(CNN) -- To robust applause from the gathered faithful, Pope Francis called Sunday for a day of prayer and fasting over the violence in Syria.Devoting the totality of his weekly remarks in St.
Artist commissioned by Harley, Vatican to paint 110th piece
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Painter David Uhl was commissioned by both Harley-Davidson and the Vatican to paint a special work of art commemorating the 110th Anniversary celebration.Uhl's talent has taken him from rock stars to Rome -- he's even had a chance to meet the Pope."That was amazing, surreal for me.
Vatican to say next month when John Paul II will become saint
(CNN) -- The Roman Catholic Church will announce next month the date when the late popes John Paul II and John XXIII will be canonized, Vatican Radio reported Wednesday.The canonization dates for the two former pontiffs will be announced on September 30, the radio service reported, citing Cardinal Angelo Amato.Pope Francis announced last month that his two 20th century predecessors would be declared saints.John Paul was pope from 1978 until his death in 2005, drawing vast crowds as he crisscrossed the globe.
Priest calling out church hierarchy on handling of sex abuse scandal
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Father James Connell, a Catholic priest, is calling out the church hierarchy on its handling of the child sex abuse scandal.
Judge shields Milw. Archdiocese cemetery funds from creditors
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- On Tuesday, July 30th a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the Archdiocese's practice of putting a portion of the money received from cemetery lot and mausoleum sales into a trust could not be undone for the benefit of claimants in bankruptcy proceedings.The judge ruled that removing some or all of these funds from the trust and placing them in the bankruptcy estate would undoubtedly put “substantial pressure” on Archbishop Listecki to “modify behavior” and “violate beliefs”.This ruling comes on the heels of allegations of fraud against Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was Milwaukee’s Archbishop when he told deposers he, with the Vatican’s permission, in 2007 transferred $57 million in Archdiocese funds into a cemetery trust.The Milwaukee Archdiocese says the money was always designated for cemeteries, and in 2007, it was formalized into a trust.Meanwhile, SNAP, the Survivor’s Network for Those Abused by Priests, claim Cardinal Dolan set up a cemetery trust to shield assets.“Cardinal Timothy Dolan, when he was in Milwaukee, who was to be the pastor and shepard of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and especially — especially to victims of childhood sexual abuse, to whom he made to us direct promises that he was going to be truthful, that he was going to bring healing to this Archdiocese — today`s documents, especially the letter he wrote to the Vatican shows he set up a cemetery trust to shield those assets,” Peter Isely with SNAP said.The Archdiocese of Milwaukee released the following statement after Tuesday's ruling:"An important decision on the separation of church and state was issued today by United States District Court Judge Rudolph Randa.
Pope Francis on gays: `Who am I to judge?'
ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRPLANE (CNN) -- Pope Francis said Monday that he will not "judge" gays and lesbians -- including gay priests -- signaling a shift from his predecessor and offering another sign that the new pope is committed to changing the church's approach to historically marginalized groups."If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" he said in a wide-ranging news conference aboard the papal plane.Though answering a question about the so-called gay lobby at the Vatican, the pope's remarks seemed to signal a change in tone, if not in teaching, in the church's stance toward gays and lesbians more generally.The pope was flying back to Rome from Brazil, where he spent the past week celebrating World Youth Day, an international Catholic event that drew millions.Taking questions from reporters aboard the plane, the pope addressed nearly every hot-button issue facing the Roman Catholic Church: its alleged "gay lobby," Vatican bank corruption, the role of women, abortion, homosexuality and his own personal security.But it was the pope's remarks on homosexuality -- the head of a 1 billion-member church saying that he will not judge gays -- that caused the widest stir."Pope Francis' brief comment on gays reveals great mercy," said the Rev.
Massive crowd in Brazil attends prayer service with pope
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A massive crowd packed Copacabana Beach late Saturday for a prayer service with Pope Francis.The pope addressed Catholic pilgrims who came for the weeklong World Youth Day celebration.Organizers said 3 million attended the service.
High-level security for pope after motorcade incident
RIO DE JANEIRO (CNN) -- Security for Pope Francis' visit to Brazil has been raised after an incident involving his motorcade, a Brazilian federal official told CNN.The papal visit is now classified at the highest level of security -- it was raised to "high risk" from "medium risk" after his car got stuck in a crowd of enthusiastic followers Monday, the official said.The source says the problem in part stemmed from the pope instructing drivers not to avoid crowds.After Francis arrived in Brazil on Monday, he got into a silver hatchback Fiat for the drive from the airport to downtown Rio de Janeiro.
Monday a nightmare day for Pope's security detail
COPACABANA BEACH, Brazil (CNN) -- Don't blame the pope's Swiss Guards if they had nightmares Monday night.
Bomb found near site of Pope Francis visit, Brazil says
(CNN) -- Brazilian military police say they destroyed a small explosive device over the weekend after discovering the item in a bathroom near a sanctuary Pope Francis is scheduled to visit later this week.The device was found in Aparecida, where Francis is scheduled to visit a historic Roman Catholic sanctuary Wednesday.
Pope Francis en route to Brazil, where protesters await
RIO DE JANEIRO (CNN) -- (CNN) -- For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, a Latin-American pope will touch down on his own continent on Monday.Pope Francis, the 76-year-old Argentine, begins his first apostolic visit Monday in Brazil, home to the world's largest Catholic population.
Pope Francis makes it a crime to abuse children on Vatican grounds
ROME (CNN) -- Pope Francis has laid down a law making it a crime to abuse children sexually or physically on Vatican grounds, the Holy See announced Thursday.The acts were already crimes under church law, but are now specifically outlawed within the Vatican city-state, which is home to hundreds of people.The legislation also covers child prostitution and the creation or possession of child pornography.But it has a "broader scope," according to Radio Vatican.It adds provisions of international laws against war crimes, racial discrimination and humiliating treatment or punishment to the Vatican's legal system.It includes wording from the Geneva Conventions.Francis issued the new laws as a "moto proprio," meaning that the document was his own initiative, Vatican Radio said.The new criminal laws are part of an ongoing update of the Vatican's legal system, which began under Pope Benedict XVI.The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a U.S. advocacy group for victims of abuse by priests and other clergy, dismissed the law as "a feel good gesture.""For the Vatican's image, this is a successful move.
Pope Francis, Benedict release new encyclical, focused on faith
ROME (CNN) -- A key religious text co-written by Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict, who stepped down earlier this year, was released by the Vatican on Friday.The encyclical, the first to be published since Francis became pope, sets out the priorities for the Roman Catholic Church.It's called "Lumen Fidei," which is Latin for "The Light of Faith."The groundwork for the 84-page encyclical was laid by Benedict, the Vatican said in a media briefing, while Francis "added further contributions to the existing first draft."The introduction to the text, which is divided into four chapters, reiterates the importance of having faith in a man's life, it said.Francis writes that it is faith that helps man "distinguish from good and evil" and that he "who believes, sees."He stresses that in modern times, faith has become more important than in the past.In the first chapter, he refers to the biblical figure Abraham and explains faith as "listening to the Word of God, the call to come from the isolated self in order to open up oneself to a new life and the promise of the future."Subsequent chapters talk about the connection between "faith and truth," evangelization and how faith is connected to the common good.Vatican Radio said the encyclical completes a trilogy of papal teachings on the three theological virtues -- faith, hope and charity -- that was begun by Benedict with his encyclicals "Deus Caritas Est" in 2005, and "Spe Salvi" in 2007.The encyclicals are circulated to Catholic bishops around the world and help outline the pope's thinking on doctrinal matters.The Vatican has declared 2013 to be the "Year of Faith."The latest encyclical is perhaps unprecedented in featuring the contribution of two living popes.Benedict XVI shocked the Roman Catholic world in February when he announced his resignation, making him the first pope to stand down in almost 600 years.
Victim shares story of clergy sex abuse at age 8
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Over 6,000 pages revealing records of sexual misconduct by priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee were released on July 1st, blacking out all of the victim's names to protect their identities."These files are showing people they were not mislead, they were directly lied to," says John Pilmaier, one of the victims of the documented abuse.Pilmaier made a decision to share his story in the hopes that other victims will know they're not alone."One of the things survivors try to do is find out why this happened to them - what circumstances led to their abuse, what church officials knew about it, and what they did or didn't do," says Pilmaier.Pilmaier recalls Associate Pastor David Hanser visiting his classroom when he was just eight-years-old."I was a second grade student at St.
Proposal to lift statute of limitations for sex abuse victims
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The release of 6,000 pages of documents revealing priest misconduct by the Archdioceses of Milwaukee has prompted state lawmakers to propose a bill temporarily lifting the statute of limitations.John Pilmaier's story is depicted in those documents.
Archbishop Jerome Listecki addresses church abuse scandal
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki says the Catholic Church is ready to turn the page a day after thousands of pages of church documents were released.The released documents provide new information about how the Milwaukee Archdiocese handled cases of sexual abuse.
Thousands of pages of documents on priest sex abuse cases released
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Thousands of pages of secret church documents and depositions were released on Monday, July 1st.
SNAP calling for federal investigation into Dolan's transfer of money
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- On Monday, July 1st, thousands of pages of documents, detailing the role of the Milwaukee Archdiocese and its officials in sex abuse cases involving clergy, and actions of the Archdiocese as it relates to finances and the Archdiocese's bankruptcy proceedings were released.
Church docs show priest was shuffled while abuse continued
MILWAUKEE -- Father Daniel Budzynski is accused of molesting more than 40 young boys over 31 years, while the Milwaukee Archdiocese shuffled him around to a dozen local parishes.
