The Catholic Church in Australia on Friday said that obligatory celibacy may have contributed to priests abusing children, and recommended that clergy should be given "psycho-sexual" training.
In a landmark report, an Australian Catholic Church body dealing with the legacy of child sex abuse added that some church institutions and their leaders turned a blind eye to what was going on for years.
Full StoryIn one painting, the Ramones stand together on top of a globe as if the band is larger than life. In another, the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious is chased out of the infamous Chelsea Hotel.
The paintings are part of a new exhibition in New York of Dee Dee Ramone, the bassist and songwriter of the legendary punk band, who had a little-known visual-arts side that he pursued in the years before his death in 2002.
Full StoryFidel Castro has been awarded China's version of the Nobel Peace Prize, reports said Thursday, with a paper close to the ruling Communist Party hailing the former Cuban leader's "important contributions" to world peace.
Castro bested more than 20 nominees including South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional group led by Moscow and Beijing, to win this year's "Confucius Peace Prize", the state-run Global Times reported.
Full StoryA New Zealand bar manager is due to appear in a Myanmar court Thursday after he was arrested for allegedly insulting religion by using an image of the Buddha wearing headphones in a promotion, police said.
The promotional poster, which appeared on the bar's Facebook page, sparked outrage on social media in the predominantly Buddhist nation, which has seen a surge in religious nationalism in recent months.
Full StoryChristie's hopes to consolidate its foothold in the Indian art market Thursday with only its second sale in the country, showcasing a range of work by homegrown modern artists.
The London-based auction house is offering 80 lots at Mumbai's luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel, all by Indian artists, following its first sale at the same venue last year that raised $16.3 million.
Full StoryThe secrets of Buckingham Palace, including its liberal use of garlic and horse manure and its camomile-infused lawns, will be revealed in a British television documentary to be shown at Christmas.
ITV was given rare access to the central London oasis -- the size of 22 football pitches -- for a full year, and will air two hour-long episodes of "The Queen's Garden", exploring its farthest corners.
Full StoryThey were few in number given the cold and too chilly to wear the skimpy outfits and fishnet tights typical of "SlutWalk" demonstrations. But there was no doubt the marchers in "macho" Hungary were boiling with rage.
Around 200 protesters -- mostly women -- turned out to slam a new police safety video that campaigners say puts the blame for rape on the victim -- an allegation rejected by the right-wing government.
Full StoryAfter giving up all worldly possessions, they wander the Bangladesh countryside dressed in white robes, singing of peace and love for all with their single-stringed ektaras.
Bangladesh's "mystic minstrels" have long been dismissed as hippies and even attacked and killed after being branded heretics in the Muslim-majority country.
Full StoryPakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai became the youngest ever Nobel laureate Wednesday when she received the Peace Prize in Oslo, sharing it with Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi.
"A young girl and a somewhat older man, one from Pakistan and one from India, one Muslim, the other Hindu; both symbols of what the world needs: more unity. Fraternity between the nations!" said Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee.
Full StoryAfter giving up all worldly possessions, they wander the Bangladesh countryside dressed in white robes, singing of peace and love for all with their single-stringed ektaras.
Bangladesh's "mystic minstrels" have long been dismissed as hippies and even attacked and killed after being branded heretics in the Muslim-majority country.
Full Story