The gist of Douglas Kmiec's Dec. 8 commentary, "It's a 'Get the Bishops' Law," is that the Catholic Church has now, in one fell swoop, become a victim.

Also, in response to Kennedy’s concern that the Catholic Church may collapse faster than the London Bridge, I remind him that “hierarchy” also means that the church has a sacred origin.

Church structure At the top of the Catholic Church's hierarchy is the pope. He is said to be the successor of the Apostle Peter, about whom Christ said, " You are Peter and on this rock I will ...

At the top of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy is the pope. He is said to be the successor of the Apostle Peter, about whom Christ said, “ You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church.” ...

After decades of broken promises to clean up the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual-abuse scandal, American bishops made another attempt at reform last week. Unfortunately, the new measures adopted ...

The Priestly Society of St. Pius X, a traditionalist Catholic society that has experienced a troubled relationship with the ...

VATICAN CITY — Molly Burhans has a treasure trove of information about the global Catholic Church and she’s giving the public the maps to find it. The young founder of GoodLands, a U.S ...

St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Santiago, Chile, is seen in this file photo. (Credit: Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters via CNS.) CHILE/ARGENTINA – To put it mildly, the Catholic Church in Chile has a ...

Not so in the Catholic Church, where new leaders are chosen by current leaders. If the hierarchy had been open with the laity about the sex abuse crisis, if the bishops had listened to the people ...

The Catholic Church is not simply the Catholic hierarchy — those with titles of bishop, or cardinal or pope. These individuals do control the levers of power and authority in the church, but the ...

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church requires nearly absolute obedience. This makes it difficult to speak up against superiors. And by the same token, superiors too can protect offending priests.