By Colette Browne
THE resignation of Pope Benedict has prompted much debate about his legacy but another question also arises — why do so many people in this country continue to care about an anachronistic institution that doesn’t want them

The Gay Catholic Priests' Blog
By Colette Browne
THE resignation of Pope Benedict has prompted much debate about his legacy but another question also arises — why do so many people in this country continue to care about an anachronistic institution that doesn’t want them
ELEVEN AMERICANS will be among the 117 cardinals of the Catholic Church heading soon to Rome to select the next pope. One of them, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, for a quarter-century the archbishop of Los Angeles, is lucky not to
File under: The real reason…Immunity!

By Philip Pullella
Pope Benedict’s decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection
By Harriet Ryan
The Archdiocese of L.A. took $115 million from its cemeteries’ maintenance fund in 2007, nearly depleting it. The move seems legal, but it was not announced, and relatives of the dead were not told.
Pressed to come
By John L. Allen Jr.
This column probably ought to carry a warning label: “The following piece of writing contains an apples-and-oranges comparison that may be hazardous to your intellectual health.” I’m going to compare two fights among senior churchmen,
What were the Magdalene Laundries?
Institutions where women were sent if they were regarded as “fallen women”.
Who was sent there?
The women who were committed to these homes included women who conceived out of wed lock, wards of state
A retired Los Angeles cardinal accused of mismanaging a child sex abuse crisis has been stripped of all administrative and public duties by his successor.
Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, 76, has apologised for his “failure”, Archbishop Jose Gomez said on
File under: It’s gettin’ nasty! The secret internal power struggle is beginning to seep into the public domain. There is no way that Gomez would attack Mahony without the explicit authorization of B-16. The pope is throwing Mahony under the
Sour grapes, Bishop Finn? Retaliating against the NCR because they had the temerity to suggest that you step side because of your involvement in the clergy sex abuse scandal? Have you no shame?
By Matt Pearce
Bishop Robert W. Finn
File under: When an apology is not an apology. Jesus, these men simply can’t stop the prevarication. They couldn’t take responsibility for their actions if their life depended on it. Shame, shame, shame!
By Liberty Zabala
Dark days fall upon