Liberation theology is a movement that recalls the kind of ideological clashes that were considered obsolete when the Cold War ended. But the election of Pope Francis, a vocal advocate for the poor as a priest and bishop in Argentina, and now as pope, has renewed debates about this controversial strain of theology.
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is now Pope Francis, the 265th successor to St. Peter, after his election in the Sistine Chapel by the 115 electors of the College of Cardinals. This edition of ReligionLink provides resources and regular news updates for reporters covering this historic event.
Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world, and many within the Roman Catholic Church, by announcing Monday, Feb. 11, that he would resign at the end of the month. His decision marks the first time in nearly six centuries that a pontiff has stepped down.
The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops met in June in Seattle to revise policies approved nearly a decade ago in response to the clergy sexual-abuse crisis. Many argue that recent developments show the bishops have even more work to do.
The death of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a former pathologist who helped dozens of terminally ill people die with a suicide machine, has renewed a national debate on end-of-life issues that never went away completely, even after Kevorkian was sentenced to prison in 1999.
The popularity of in-vitro fertilization and other procedures that require the creation of multiple embryos has resulted in an excess of frozen embryos, as many as 500,000. What to do with them, and whether couples can “adopt” them to gestate them to birth, is an ethical conundrum and a matter of intense debate.
The 2010 World Cup will conclude on July 11, but not before observers offer up numerous analogies between soccer and religion. ReligionLink has a running tally of stories and resources for reporters looking for an angle on the tournament in South Africa.
As Pope Benedict XVI entered the sixth year of his papacy, the pontiff came under increasing scrutiny and intense criticism over his approach to revelations of sexual abuse by clergy.
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