The Associated Press

A judge in Milan has ruled that trial can go ahead in a case in which priests and lawyers of the Legion of Christ Catholic religious order are accused of offering to pay the family of a sexual abuse victim to lie to prosecutors.

A former altar boy who says he was sexually abused by the late Bishop Christopher Weldon has filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for the suffering he alleges was made worse by a church coverup.

An Alabama man won a reprieve from a planned lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court said the state must allow his personal pastor in the death chamber.

A new survey reports more than a quarter of white evangelicals believe a QAnon conspiracy theory that purports Donald Trump is secretly battling a cabal of pedophile Democrats, and roughly half believe the false claim that antifa was responsible for the Capitol insurrection.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office on Feb. 6 issued revised guidelines for indoor church services after the Supreme Court lifted the state's ban on indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but left in place restrictions on singing and chanting.

Enrollment in Catholic schools in the U.S. dropped 6.4% from the previous academic year amid the pandemic and economic stresses — the largest single-year decline in at least five decades.

Scores of Catholic dioceses in the U.S. had more than $10 billion in cash and other readily available funds when they received at least $1.5 billion from the nation's emergency relief program for small businesses slammed by the coronavirus, an AP investigation found.

President Joe Biden on Feb. 4 decried the "political extremism" that inspired the U.S. Capitol riot and appealed for collective strength during turbulent times in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast.

Some child sexual abuse survivors might have to wait over two years to pursue legal claims because of a bureaucratic bungle that prompted outcry across the political spectrum and the resignation of Pennsylvania's top state elections official.

Fantasy novel enthusiasts wish to turn the house of famed Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien in Oxford, where he wrote "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," into a meeting place for writers, screenwriters and filmmakers from all cultures and faith backgrounds.

Most California Roman Catholic bishops are asking a judge to throw out a 2019 law that allowed accusers of clergy sexual abuse to sue even if they were molested decades ago.

New anti-government protests broke out in Polish cities Wednesday, shortly after the country's top court confirmed its highly divisive ruling that will further tighten the predominantly Catholic nation’s strict anti-abortion law.

The Vatican rejected lay experts' determination that a half-dozen claims were credible and instead slapped the retired bishop on the wrist for what it called "flagrant" imprudent behavior.

President Joe Biden attended Mass for the first time since taking office, worshipping Jan. 24 at the church he frequented when he was vice president.

The first comprehensive internal inquiry on sex abuse allegations by a religious order in Spain has identified 81 children and 37 adult victims by 96 Jesuits since the late 1920s.

A small but vocal minority wants to punish the new president for his support of legalized abortion, gay rights and birth control. These are the bishops who consider Biden a bad Catholic who should not be allowed to go to Communion. But even the late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, no liberal, thought this was a bad idea and told his priests not to play cop at the Communion rail.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris heard from a diverse group of faith leaders Jan. 21 in the National Prayer Service, a day after their inauguration.

Muslim Americans and advocates are breathing a sigh of relief after President Joe Biden reversed the travel ban, which has separated thousands of families since it was issued under former President Donald Trump.

"We'll press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibilities. Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain."

The Bible is so big — with a leather cover, metal clasps and 5 inches of thickness — that Jill Biden held it with two hands when her husband was sworn in as President Barack Obama's vice president.