Category: Catholic Church

Vatican says condoms acceptable only in ‘exceptional’ cases

In a series of interviews to appear in a book published this week, Pope Benedict XVI says for the first time that while the use of condoms should not be seen as a “moral solution”, it could be justified in stopping the spread of AIDS.

But the Vatican moved Sunday to counter campaigners’ claims of a U-turn in Church policy, emphasising in a statement that condom use was acceptable only in highly “exceptional” cases, AP reports.

Our take: If you don’t play the game, you don’t get to set the rules. What people do in the privacy of their bedrooms is none of the Pope’s — or the Catholic Church’s — business.

Two Catholic Churches in Brooklyn Will Close

Facing a drop in attendance and a shortage of priests, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn plans to close two churches, fold six parishes into three and impose strict budget constraints on all 198 of its parishes.

The move, announced from pulpits on Sunday, was described by church officials as the first phase of a broad consolidation that will result in further closings or mergers over the next two years, eventually affecting every parish in the diocese, which serves an estimated 1.5 million Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens.

Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia finally becomes a church

For decades tourists have visited the twisting spires of Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia church, but 128 years after construction began Catholic faithful worshipped there for the first time on Sunday.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass to give his official blessing to the church designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, whose sculptural masterpieces dot the city in the region of Catalonia.

While work is not scheduled to finish for many more years on the intricate and colourful Sagrada Familia, enough had been done to welcome the pontiff, including installing last minute stained-glass windows.