French bishops on Saturday approved a programme of payouts to victims of sex abuse by priests -- but survivors have already objected that the Church has not gone far enough in admitting responsibility.
French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who received a six-month suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority, is to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican today to tender his resignation.
French prosecutors said Friday they had asked the Vatican to lift the diplomatic immunity of its envoy to France who is
under investigation for alleged sexual assault.
Around 25,000 Catholic pilgrims packed the French shrine of Lourdes on Monday for Assumption celebrations, held under tight security after several terror attacks, including the murder of a Catholic priest.
A man who claims to have been abused by priests as a child was jailed on Wednesday for fronting a four-man gang that swindled 158 clerics out of hundreds of thousands of euros.
A hardline French Catholic group has bought the gay bar next to its local church, hoping to turn it into a religious meeting place. But the head of the city's gay community tells The Local that the church will need "a whole bunch of exorcists" to turn it around.
Amid falling membership, the Catholic Church in France is doing everything it can to catch up with the modern lives of parishioners, it would seem, even if that means blessing their smartphones.
Three months after being unceremoniously kicked out of the priesthood, a former Catholic priest from France arrived in the Vatican this week after a 40-day pilgrimage over the Alps. He now has to persuade the Pope to reinstate him.
The historic Catholic pilgrimage site of Lourdes in south west France was evacuated on Tuesday after flash floods hit the area. Management at the shrine have told The Local they are growing increasingly concerned as waters continue to rise.
Femen, a group of topless feminists staged their latest protest on Sunday this time disrupting a march by supporters of France’s far-right in Paris. Four bare-chested women unfurled a banner which read “Sextermination for Nazism”.
Paris has a new group of semi-naked activists roaming its streets, going by the name of Hommen. Set up in response to the notorious feminist organisation Femen, the bare-chested male members of Hommen are an emerging force in the anti- gay marriage movement.
She was once a French government minister, but her bible-waving and penchant for drama make her a target for ridicule. On Sunday, Christine Boutin became an internet phenomenon - that's why she's our French Face of the Week.
Putting the blame for paedophilia on the Roman Catholic Church is a way of avoiding the issue, top French cardinal and Archbishop of Paris Andre Vingt-Trois says.
A quarter of French people believe the strength of the Catholic Church has plummeted during the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, according to a survey published on Thursday, the day the pontiff officially steps down.
At Sunday's anti-gay marriage demo in Paris, a self-styled 'fag-hag' and 'spin doctor for Jesus' got the loudest cheers. In the first of a new series, The Local takes a closer look at the all-singing, all-dancing paradox that is Frigide Barjot – this week’s French Face of the Week.
French Housing Minister Cécile Duflot has set the cat among the pigeons by requesting that the Catholic church make available its unoccupied Paris properties to house the homeless during the cold winter months.
The Catholic institute behind last weekend’s anti-gay marriage demonstrations is to sue a feminist group for a counter-demonstration in which participants dressed as naked nuns.
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Churches across France have become overrun by tourists in skimpy beachwear, showing off bare stomachs and wearing baseball caps, according to priests who have spoken out about the drop in standards.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">France is expected to send the second largest delegation of young people to the global religious celebrations planned by the Catholic church in Madrid later this month.</span></p>
