Roman Catholic Church

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In this April 29, 2016, file photo, then-Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands with Pope Francis at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

As Holy Week arrives, President Biden serves as modern-day Pontius Pilate

By Tim Constantine

FILE - In this May 21, 2015 file photo, Mauro Cioffari, left, puts a wedding ring on his partner Davide Conti's finger as their civil union is being registered by a municipality officer during a ceremony in Rome's Campidoglio Capitol Hill. The Vatican has decreed, Monday, March 15, 2021, that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.” The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)

Belgian bishop lashes out at Vatican over gay unions decree

By RAF CASERT - Associated Press

Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the occasion of 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, March 14, 2021. (Tiziana Fabi/Pool photo via AP)

Vatican excludes gay union blessing as God ‘can’t bless sin’

By Nicole Winfield - Associated Press

The San Jose Church stands in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. The second oldest Spanish church in the Americas is reopening following a massive reconstruction that took nearly two decades to complete. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

Puerto Rico to reopen historic church after long restoration

By DÁNICA COTO - Associated Press

File - In this Tuesday Nov. 2, 2010 file photo, mourners carry the coffins of slain Christians during their funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, who were killed Sunday when gunmen stormed a church during mass and took the entire congregation hostage. The attack, claimed by an al-Qaida-linked organization, was the deadliest recorded against Iraq's Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed a wave of violence against them. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Ahead of Pope visit, survivor recalls Iraq church massacre

By SAMYA KULLAB - Associated Press

FILE - This March, 13, 2019 handout file photo from the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, shows senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. On Saturday, March 6, 2021, Pope Francis will visit the 90-year-old Grand Ayatollah who is revered by many Shiites worldwide and whose words hold powerful influence in Iraq and beyond. The pontiff and ayatollah will meet in al-Sistani’s modest home in the Iraqi city of Najaf. (Office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, via AP, File)

Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB - Associated Press

Congregations still recovering from August’s derecho

By GRACE KING - Associated Press

Pandemic forces changes in Omaha’s fish fry traditions

By BETSIE FREEMAN - Associated Press

In this Nov. 5, 1997 photo, students walk down a stairwell between classes at The Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore. Catholic schools have faced tough times for years, but the pace of closures is accelerating dramatically amid economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The school, founded in 1847, is due to close on June 30, 2020. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is an alumna. (Andre F. Chung/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

Catholic schools understand education is essential part of salvation

By Michael McKenna

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on climate change and green jobs, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Joe Biden: A liberal wolf in a moderate sheep’s clothing

By Cal Thomas

Priest exonerated after abuse allegations by Ellensburg man

Associated Press

Cardinal George Pell has a light moment during an interview with the Associated Press inside his residence near the Vatican in Rome, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. The pope’s former treasurer, who was convicted and then acquitted of sexual abuse in his native Australia, said Monday he feels a dismayed sense of vindication as the financial mismanagement he tried to uncover in the Holy See is now being exposed in a spiraling Vatican corruption investigation. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Cardinal Pell on Trump, Benedict XVI and a plot against him

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2013, file photo, a photo of Rev. Robert Brennan, right, is displayed during a news conference in Philadelphia. Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia charged Brennan, a former Roman Catholic priest with lying to the FBI about whether he knew the accuser and his family. Two years ago U.S. attorney William McSwain in Philadelphia joined the long line of ambitious prosecutors investigating the Roman Catholic church's handling of priest-abuse complaints. The Justice Department had never brought a conspiracy case against the church. McSwain sent subpoenas to dioceses across Pennsylvania asking them to turn over their files and submit to grand jury testimony if asked. The dioceses pledged to comply. But as McSwain's tenure nears its end as President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month, there's no sign that any sweeping church indictment is afoot. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

DOJ probe of Catholic church abuse goes quiet 2 years later

By MARYCLAIRE DALE - Associated Press

FILE - In this June 29, 2017, file photo, Cardinal George Pell prepares to make a statement, at the Vatican. Cardinal George Pell, who was convicted and then acquitted of sexual abuse in his native Australia, reflects on the nature of suffering, Pope Francis’ papacy and the humiliations of solitary confinement in his jailhouse memoir, according to an advance copy obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Cardinal’s prison diary explores suffering, solitary lockup

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2019 file photo, pilgrims arrive at the plaza outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mexican Catholic Church announced on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 the cancelation of the annual pilgrimage, the largest Catholic pilgrimage worldwide. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

Catholic Church cancels Guadalupe pilgrimage over pandemic

Associated Press

Three nuns hold rosaries and a Bible behind President Trump at a rally in Ohio. The sisters of the Children of Mary religious community were dubbed "MAGA nuns." More clerics are endorsing candidates. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Catholics unsettled over political views of priests, nuns

By Christopher Vondracek - The Washington Times

In this Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, file photo, Pope Francis puts on his face mask as he attends an inter-religious ceremony for peace in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, in Rome. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Pope Francis’ COVID-19 advisers and the mask

By Nicole Winfield - Associated Press

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2020, file photo, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of a private Christian school that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

Barrett was trustee at private school with anti-gay policies

By MICHELLE R. SMITH and MICHAEL BIESECKER - Associated Press

Archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site

Associated Press

Pilgrims walk on the shoulder of a highway toward Our Lady of Aparecida Basilica on the outskirts of Aparecida, Brazil, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. Two of Brazil’s biggest Catholic celebrations scheduled for this holiday weekend were downscaled and canceled, yet people still appeared in droves, underscoring the challenge of extolling COVID-19 precautions as well as pressures to ease up. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazil Catholics drawn to worship despite downsized services

By TATIANA POLLASTRI and MAURICIO SAVARESE - Associated Press