Report: Catholic Church in Spain faces abuse investigation (Reuters) Spain’s Catholic Church is to open an investigation into alleged sex abuse of hundreds of children by members of the clergy dating back 80 years that the newspaper El Pais has uncovered, the daily said on Sunday. The investigation will look into allegations of abuse against 251 priests and some lay people from religious institutions that the paper has uncovered, El Pais said…

What you need to know about new Latin Mass restrictions (CNA) New moves by Pope Francis mean changes for Catholics dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass —and for the priests and bishops responsible for these communities.  Even though these Catholics represent a relative small minority of believers, the changes have ramifications for the entire Church. Here’s what you need to know about the rules the pope set forth in a document called Traditionis custodes…

Church leader labels Israeli travel ban “discriminatory” (CNS) A prominent Catholic leader expressed anger at an Israeli policy that allows a Jewish “roots” program to bring in participants despite a ban on travelers. An Israeli spokesman denied the claim. Allowing young Jews from abroad to come to Israel on the Birthright program while not allowing Christian pilgrims and tourists in during the Christmas season is discriminatory, Wadie Abunassar, an adviser to the Assembly of Catholic Bishops, wrote on his Facebook page…

O’Malley: EWTN, social media give distorted picture of U.S. support for pope (Crux) In a new interview, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston spoke out against American critics of Pope Francis with ties to the EWTN television network, insisting that despite this opposition, the pope enjoys broad support in the United States. A key papal advisor, O’Malley spoke to veteran journalist Elisabetta Piqué in an interview published in Argentine paper La Nacion Friday…

Across U.S., houses of worship struggle to rebuild attendance (AP) Polls by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows how dramatically church attendance fell during the worst of the pandemic last year, even as many say they are now returning to regular service attendance. Among Catholics, 26% attend in person at least weekly now, compared with 30% in 2019. In the 2020 poll, conducted as many bishops temporarily waived the obligation for weekly Mass attendance, just 5% were worshipping in person at least weekly…

Can politics save Christianity? (The New York Times) A more fully Christian politics would be a powerful witness for the faith. Political power can lay the social foundations for religious growth. And a healthy church inevitably generates a “cultural Christianity” that draws in cynical and halfhearted figures as well as true believers. But when the church itself is unhealthy or poorly led, a plan to start its revitalization with secular political actors and cultural Christianity — with Donald Trump and Eric Zemmour, presumably — seems destined for disappointment…