
Obama offers faith groups new birth control rule
Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration is proposing a compromise for faith-based ...

LA archbishop relieves retired cardinal of duties
Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, the former head of the nation's largest Roman Catholic diocese, was stripped of his duties Thursday by his successor ...

Evangelical churches refine message on gay issues
The Rev. Robert Jeffress has changed the way he talks about homosexuality from the pulpit. The pastor of the 11,000-member First Baptist Dallas hasn't ...
Furor over proposed shift in Scouts no-gays policy
The Boy Scouts of America faces intensifying criticism from the left and right over a proposal to move away from a mandatory no-gays membership policy ...

Victim portrayed as contradiction in Ariz. trial
Attorneys for a woman charged with killing her lover worked Wednesday at her trial to portray the victim as a liar and cheat who repeatedly deceived ...

Priest, teacher convicted in Pa. church abuse case
A jury on Wednesday convicted a priest and teacher in a pivotal church-abuse case that rocked the Philadelphia archdiocese and sent a church official ...

Pussy Riot cathedral video banned for 'extremism'
Footage of feminist rockers Pussy Riot's irreverent protest against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral last year has been banned in ...
Mexico breaks up alleged border sex-slavery cult
Mexican officials broke up a bizarre cult that allegedly ran a sex-slavery ring among its followers on the U.S. border, Mexican immigration ...

Scouts' future uncertain if ban on gays is dropped
The Boy Scouts of America's proposed move away from its no-gays membership policy has outraged some longtime admirers, gratified many critics and ...

Under pressure, Boy Scouts may ease no-gays policy
Facing diverse and ceaseless protests, the Boy Scouts of America is signaling its readiness to end the nationwide exclusion of gays as scouts or ...

Scouts considering retreat from no-gays policy
The Boy Scouts of America may soon give sponsors of troops the authority to decide whether to accept gays as scouts and leaders - a potentially ...

Stan Musial remembered during funeral Mass
Stan Musial was remembered during a funeral and memorial outside Busch Stadium on Saturday as a Hall of Famer and a St. Louis icon embraced by ...

Obama birth control mandates loosens lawsuits
The legal challenges over religious freedom and the birth control coverage requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul appear to be ...

Feds: 'Monsignor Meth' dealt drug, bought sex shop
To onlookers, Monsignor Kevin Wallin's fall from grace at his Connecticut parish was like something out of "Breaking Bad," the television series about ...
Philly priest-abuse case in hands of jury
The credibility of a 24-year-old heroin addict whose sex-abuse complaint took down a Roman Catholic church official in Philadelphia — and helped bring ...

Religion comes to Davos forum
Who created Davos, and why does it exist? Questions about God and religion were rife at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos this ...
Pope tweets shout-out for WDC anti-abortion rally
Pope Benedict XVI is giving a shout-out to an anti-abortion rally in Washington, tweeting that politicians should protect the unborn and "promote a ...
Pope on social networking: the virtual is real
Pope Benedict XVI put church leaders on notice Thursday, saying social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter aren't a virtual world they can ...

Bishop apologizes for role in hiding priest abuse
Prosecutors who have been stymied for years in their attempts to build a criminal conspiracy case against retired Los Angeles Archdiocese Cardinal ...

Obamas, Bidens attend Cathedral prayer service
President Barack Obama began the first full workday of his second term with a rousing, spiritual appeal for unity and strength from church leaders of ...

Remains of last Yugoslav king returned to Serbia
The remains of Yugoslavia's last king — Peter II Karadjordjevic, who died in the U.S. in 1970 — were flown back to Serbia in a solemn ceremony on ...
German cardinal 'ashamed' at rape victim treatment
A senior German bishop is publicly apologizing after two Catholic hospitals turned away a rape victim seeking treatment that included emergency ...

Nation honors King on day of Obama inauguration
Commemorative events for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. slid seamlessly into celebrations of the swearing-in Monday of the nation's first black ...

Obama starts inauguration day with visit to church
President Barack Obama began inauguration day listening to a church pastor counsel him to use his power to benefit others, and the nation. It was part ...