Churches & Religion

Pope Francis talks to Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri as he leaves at the end of a morning session of the Synod of bishops at the Vatican on Friday.

Catholic bishops at synod call for a more welcoming church

October 24, 2015, 2:43pm Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- Catholic bishops called Saturday for a more welcoming church for cohabitating couples and Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried, endorsing Pope Francis' call for a more merciful and less judgmental church. Read story

A parishoner becomes emotional as she kneels and prays beside the remains of St. Maria Goretti on Oct. 12 at St. John Cantius Church in Chicago.

Remains of youngest Catholic saint inspires emotional crowds

October 24, 2015, 6:03am Churches & Religion

CHICAGO -- Welcomed by crowds of teary-eyed faithful, the remains of St. Maria Goretti, the youngest saint canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, arrived in Chicago at dawn on a recent Monday, with law enforcement officers serving as pallbearers for the young saint's glass casket. Read story

Programs help rabbis shape up

October 24, 2015, 5:55am Churches & Religion

CONCORD, N.H. -- As an Orthodox Jew, Rabbi Moshe Gray may not need a cross. But CrossFit? That's another story. Read story

Pope Francis holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican on Wednesday. The Vatican is denying a report in an Italian newspaper that Pope Francis has a small, curable brain tumor. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev.

Vatican denies report pope has small, curable brain tumor

October 21, 2015, 10:30am Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican on Wednesday categorically denied a report in an Italian newspaper that Pope Francis has a small, curable brain tumor, saying he is in good health and that his head is "absolutely perfect." Read story

Mormon leader knocks Kentucky clerk over gays

October 20, 2015, 7:59pm Churches & Religion

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mormon Church staked a deeper claim to middle ground in American society on Tuesday, advocating for compromises between protecting religious liberties and prohibiting discrimination, and criticizing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis for refusing to license gay marriages. Read story

Mormon museum acknowledges polygamy

The Test of Faith exhibit is shown during a tour Sept. 29 of the Mormon Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. The Mormon church's renovated history museum reopened this month.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mormon church's renovated history museum reopened this month and features a small and surprising display about an uncomfortable part of the faith's history that for generations has been glossed over: polygamy. Read story

Pope’s proposals on marriage ‘worry’ bishops

VATICAN CITY -- The American archbishop who welcomed Pope Francis to the final rally of his U.S. tour warned Friday that Francis' big family summit of bishops risks doing serious harm to the Catholic faith if it endorses changes to the church's practice on marriage. Read story

Beating victim had wanted to leave the church, members say

New Hartford Police Department Lt. Timothy O?Neill, left, and Chief Michael Inserra leave a news conference on Friday in New Hartford, N.Y. Police say a spiritual "counseling session" devolved into violence, as members tried to get Lucas Leonard, 19, and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, to confess sins and seek forgiveness. The elder teen died and his brother was hospitalized with serious injuries. The parents and four others charged in the beatings are due in court Friday.

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. -- The fatal beating of a 19-year-old man inside his church erupted during a counseling session over his desire to leave the fold, members of the insular and highly regimented congregation told police. Read story