New Zealand inquiry finds hundreds of reports of abuse (The New York Times) Reports of abuse were filed against hundreds of clergy members and others in the Roman Catholic Church in New Zealand dating back to the 1950s, according to figures released this week to a royal commission, which for the first time capture the pervasiveness of abuse accusations in the church there…
Indiana volunteers turn unused building into a refugee welcome center (Crux) They gave of their time for different reasons. Their work transformed an unused former nursing home into Catholic Charities’ new Cabrini Center, which will offer temporary housing and resettlement services to Afghan refugees starting a new life in Fort Wayne. “Volunteers were instrumental in every piece of getting this open,” said Nicole Kurut, mission advancement manager for the Catholic Charities office serving the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend…
Ukrainian archbishop: Church offers hope amid escalation in Ukraine (CNA) The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said on Friday that the Church is offering hope to the country’s beleaguered population amid a “very dangerous escalation” in the Ukraine crisis. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk was speaking on Feb. 4 at an online event marking eight years of conflict in the Eastern European country, organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)…
Chicago high school fires teacher who used racial slur during class (Chicago Sun-Times) A Southwest Side Catholic school fired a longtime history teacher after she said the full N-word in class during a discussion of sports teams with racist names. Mary DeVoto was teaching Native American culture for her World History class at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School when a student brought up efforts to find a replacement for Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. DeVoto, a teacher of 41 years, began discussing the former name of the Washington Commanders and why it was offensive to indigenous people. DeVoto told students the term was just as bad as the N-word, using the full word…
