- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
German cardinal urges lifting celibacy rule for priests
German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, whose archdiocese was the subject of a recent damning report into child sex abuses, said Wednesday he was in favour of lifting the celibacy requirement for priests.
"For many priests, it would be better if they were married," the influential archbishop of Munich and Freising told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
His comments came after a damning independent report last month found 497 victims of sexually abusive behaviour by 235 people -- including 173 priests -- in the Munich and Freising archdiocese between 1945 and 2019.
The report by law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl found that former Munich and Freising archbishop, ex-pope Benedict XVI, failed to take action to stop four priests accused of child sex abuse in Munich in the 1980s, before he became pontiff.
It also accused current archbishop Marx of failing to act in two cases of suspected abuse.
After the report was released, Marx said he was "shocked and ashamed" by the findings.
On Wednesday, Marx said he wondered if celibacy "should be a basic requirement for every priest".
"I think that things as they are cannot continue like this," he added.
"I always say this to young priests: living alone is not so easy.
"And if some say: without the obligation of celibacy, they will all get married! My answer is: so what! If they all marry, it would at least be a sign that things are not currently working."
The unusually forthright comments on the subject came on the eve of a new assembly of the German synod, which is expected to move towards modernising the institution by 2023.
It is expected to look at several subjects viewed with suspicion by conservatives and the Vatican, such as allowing priests to marry and a greater role for women.
Last year Marx offered Pope Francis his resignation over the church's "institutional and systemic failure" in its handling of child sex abuse scandals.
However Pope Francis rejected his offer, urging the cardinal known for his reforms to stay and help shape change in the church.
Four years ago a report found that at least 3,677 children had been sexually abused in the Catholic Church in Germany since 1946.
But its authors, who did not have access to the church's files, estimated that the true number was far higher.
A.Jones--AMWN