By FRANCIS X. ROCCA c. 2011 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has closed the monastery of a fourth-century Roman basilica on account of “liturgical and financial irregularities” that included performances by a nun who had once been a lap dancer. The Vatican cited “behavior not consonant with the monastic life” at the…

By CHARLES POPE c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) The Rev. Patrick Conroy was sworn in Wednesday (May 25) as House chaplain, making him the first Jesuit to hold the position, and the first candidate forced to navigate around the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal. “It’s clear this loyal servant of the faithful is uniquely…

By FRANCIS X. ROCCA c. 2011 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) The morality and effectiveness of using condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS will be on the agenda at a Vatican conference this weekend (May 27-28), six months after comments by Pope Benedict XVI again touched off worldwide controversy. The conference, which will focus on “the…

By KIM MICHELE RICHARDSON c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) The Vatican has given the world’s Catholic bishops one year to set policies for handling allegations of child abuse, including reporting to police where required by local law. And on Wednesday (May 18), the U.S. bishops released a 300-page report on the “causes and context”…

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