Pope Benedict XIV will likely hold an outdoor mass on the grounds of Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace during a visit in September, newspaper <i>Bild</i> reported on Tuesday. Also under consideration initially were the Olympic Stadium and Gendarmenmarkt.
Facing a dire shortage of priests, influential voices in Germany have begun questioning some central tenets of the Catholic Church including celibacy for the clergy. Kyle James reports.
Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit Berlin in September 2011, and even has a parliamentary address on his agenda. But the city's Catholic officials fear the pontiff will draw embarrassingly small crowds and may not hold any public services.
A report on abuse by clergy in Pope Benedict’s former Archbishopric of Munich shows that at least 159 priests were suspected of sexual or physical abuse while the actual number is thought to be considerably higher.
Pope Benedict XVI has said for the first time that using condoms is acceptable "in certain cases", notably to reduce the risk of HIV infection, in a book due out Tuesday, apparently softening his once hard-line stance.
Pope Benedict XVI is to make an official state visit to his native Germany in late 2011, probably in September, the German Bishops' Conference said Friday.
What is going on in the Catholic Church in Germany? Wracked by sexual abuse scandals, it has now decided to get into an ugly row with disgraced Bishop Walter Mixa. Paul Kreiner of Der Tagesspiegel doubts the pope can usher in a new era of reform.
The church official who initially said it was his fault that a paedophile priest was given succour in Pope Benedict XVI’s former diocese has broken ranks, alleging he was bullied into taking responsibility to protect the pontiff.
The Vatican on Friday dismissed a fresh allegation by The New York Times that Pope Benedict XVI failed to bar the transfer of a known paedophile priest while he was the archbishop of Munich.
Trust in the Catholic Church has taken a heavy blow, a poll released Wednesday revealed, with barely one in six Germans saying they had confidence in the Church in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal.
German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger praised Bavaria’s Catholic conference of bishops on Monday for their commitment to work with law enforcement to clarify accusations of child sex abuse at Church institutions.
The Catholic priest at the centre of a paedophilia scandal that has embroiled Pope Benedict XVI was suspended from duty late Monday amid revelations he was still working with children 25 years after he was convicted of sexual abuse.
The Pope has become embroiled in Germany's Catholic child sex abuse scandal after his former diocese confirmed he approved a decision to give church accommodation to a priest accused of forcing an 11-year-old boy to perform oral sex.
Prosecutors in the Bavarian city of Regensburg have submitted a request to press charges against the controversial Catholic bishop Richard Williamson for inciting hatred by denying the Holocaust.
The rebellious fundamentalist Catholic Pius Brotherhood challenged the Vatican again on Saturday by ordaining three new priests – against the will of Pope Benedict XVI.
The German Jewish Council has slammed Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem “disappointing” and lacking “credibility” in light of the pontiff’s failure to address concerns about the controversial Pius Brotherhood.
Bishop Richard Williamson has apologized for his denial of the Holocaust, Catholic news agency <i>Zenit</i> reported late on Thursday, but Germany’s Central Council of Jews in Germany rejected the statement.
A bishop has been ordered by the head of his ultra-traditionalist Roman Catholic fraternity to retract his denials of the Holocaust, news magazine <i>Der Spiegel</i> reported late on Tuesday.
A Catholic bishop rehabilitated by the pope who denies the Holocaust has refused to recant his statements until he sees "evidence," he said in an interview published on Saturday. The issue has sparked a storm of outrage towards the Catholic Church and hurt relations with Jewish groups.
Hamburg’s Catholic Archbishop has criticised the Vatican’s controversial choice to lift the excommunication of British Bishop Richard Williamson after he publicly denied the Holocaust, daily <i>Hamburger Abendblatt</i> reported on Monday.
Bavarian-born Pope Benedict XVI doesn’t want to miss out on his country’s traditional Christmas goodness and had his personal courier drive up to the southern German state to pick up holiday treats and Christmas trees for the Vatican, news agency <i>DPA</i> reported on Thursday.
The Catholic diocese in the Bavarian city of Regensburg on Monday defended a decision to spend a reported €100,000 on birthday celebrations in the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI's elder brother.
