VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican sought Wednesday to explain the absence of a key member of Pope Francis' protocol team following his role in a controversial book on priestly celibacy co-written by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.The Vatican press office...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Another founder of a Catholic religious movement has been defrocked for sexual misconduct and abusing his power, the latest in a string of purportedly orthodox, charismatic priests who turned out to be predators.Pope Francis defrocked...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In Midwestern boots or bare feet in sandals, the faithful walked in procession down a snow-covered street here, keeping the rhythm of festive music and carrying paintings of St. Paul, the patron saint of their hometown of Axochiapan,...

CROOKSTON, Minn. (AP) — Roman Catholic Church leaders in Rome authorized more investigation into claims that a northern Minnesota bishop interfered with past investigations into clerical sexual misconduct with children, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and...

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Russia's eastern Siberia on Tuesday convicted two Jehovah's Witnesses of extremism because of their membership in the religious group, the latest in a wave of crackdown on the organization.Stanislav Kim and Nikolay Polevodov...

BERLIN (AP) — A German appeals court on Tuesday rejected a Jewish man's bid to force the removal of a 700-year-old anti-Semitic statue from a church where Martin Luther once preached.The “Judensau,” or “Jew pig,” sculpture on the Town Church...

ROME (AP) — European and American nationalists attending a conference Tuesday in Rome cheered Brexit, warned of left-wing “totalitarianism” and waxed nostalgic about St. John Paul II's papacy and the “glorious revolution” that brought down communism.The...

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Interfaith leaders gathered on Monday in Abu Dhabi to mark one year since Pope Francis' historic trip to the Arabian Peninsula, a visit that saw leading Muslim clerics gather alongside the pope to promote co-existence.The...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Sunday it is reducing the number of its missionaries in Liberia because of concerns about having adequate supplies for them due to the country's economic problems.In the...

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European governments ramped up flights Saturday to bring their citizens back from China amid the outbreak of a new virus that has sickened thousands of people.A German air force plane arrived in Frankfurt carrying 128 passengers...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An aging monsignor who was the first U.S. church official ever tried and sent to prison over his handling of priest-abuse complaints could soon be retried in the 2011 case with one thing missing — the victim.The only accuser whose...

READING, Pa. (AP) — The owner of an award-winning organic dairy in Pennsylvania that abruptly closed its doors last fall is accused of milking investors to the tune of nearly $60 million.Philip Riehl, the majority owner of Trickling Springs Creamery,...