FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A Fort Dodge man accused of beating a pastor to death outside a central Iowa church was found mentally unfit Wednesday to stand trial.Webster County Judge Gina Badding ordered Joshua Pendleton, 36, to undergo treatment at the...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Why would an NFL team, even one called the Saints, strike a behind-the-scenes alliance with the Roman Catholic Church on an issue as emotionally fraught as clergy sex abuse?It’s a question even die-hard Saints fans in this heavily...

BERLIN (AP) — The Roman Catholic cardinal who leads the German Bishops' Conference said Tuesday he plans to step down at the end of his term in March.Cardinal Reinhard Marx, 66, said in a letter to fellow bishops in Germany that he would not seek a...

The owner of the New Orleans Saints said Monday that the NFL team played no role in determining which priests would be named in the list of “credibly accused” clergy published by the area's Roman Catholic Church.Gayle Benson, a devout Catholic who...

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — The Mozambican attorney general’s office on Monday withdrew its appeal to South African courts to have former Finance Minister Manuel Chang extradited back home amid a massive debt scandal.Chang faces trial in the United...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will visit the Mediterranean island nation of Malta on May 31, the Vatican said Monday, confirming the Pope's first foreign trip for the year.Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna said he expected the visit would highlight...

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian Parliament is expected to pass a motion on Monday calling for Israel to immediately extradite a former school principal wanted on dozens of charges of child sex abuse.The motion to be moved by lawmakers from...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Legion of Christ religious order, discredited years ago by its pedophile founder, has elected an American priest as its new superior as it seeks to recover from new sex abuse and cover-up scandals that have renewed calls for...

In the wake of revelations that scores of Roman Catholic priests and religious workers credibly accused of child sexual abuse are living unsupervised in communities across the country, state officials face a quandary: Should they screen former clergy...

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...

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...