Religion News Headlines

MADRID (AP) — The Catholic archdiocese in Madrid says it needs more exorcists to help some of its faithful cope with the devil.

By Alice Mannette MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - In deeply religious Moore, Oklahoma, God and prayer are frequently mentioned as sources of strength for residents reeling from the fourth damaging tornado in 15 years. "My family and God is what's helping us through this," said Vickie Myers, 39, whose husband Brent, a disabled …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An order of the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to pay $16.5 million to more than 400 adults who said they were sexually abused as children by religious leaders, the parties announced on Thursday in separate statements. The victims claimed abuse at schools and child-care facilities belonging to the …

NEW YORK (AP) — The Christian Brothers have agreed to pay more than $16 million to people who were molested as children by members of the U.S. religious order.

You may have heard about the case last month of three young men from the United Arab Emirates deported from Saudi Arabia for being “too handsome.”

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The president of El Salvador met Pope Francis on Thursday to urge his fellow Latin American to put Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered by a right-wing death squad in 1980, on the road to Roman Catholic sainthood. The sainthood process for Romero was effectively stalled under …

A federal appeals court in Denver is set to hear argument on Thursday in a lawsuit charging that the Obama administration’s requirement that employers provide contraceptive services in all mandated health plans violates religious liberty.

The Holy See's new financial watchdog just announced six incidents of possible monetary malfeasance from last year

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston church official who claimed in an autobiography he was a leg-breaker for reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger faces accusations that he looted the church's assets for personal financial gain.

PHOENIX (AP) — An atheist lawmaker's decision to give the daily prayer at the Arizona House of Representatives triggered a do-over from a Christian lawmaker who said the previous day's prayer didn't pass muster.

The Vatican took another step Wednesday to show greater financial transparency by publishing the first annual report from its financial watchdog agency and announcing new regulations to fight money laundering ...

ACCOUNTABILITY: The Vatican published the first annual report from its financial watchdog agency and announced new regulations to fight money laundering and terror financing. DETAILS: The report from the ...

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's new financial watchdog said on Wednesday it had detected six possible attempts to use the Holy See to launder money last year, citing this as proof of its commitment to transparency. The head of the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), presenting its …

QUEBEC - The Quebec government is turning to public opinion as it seeks to set guidelines for minority rights.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' fascination with the devil took on remarkable new twists Tuesday, with a well-known exorcist insisting Francis helped "liberate" a Mexican man possessed by four different demons despite the Vatican's insistence that no such papal exorcism took place.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has issued his first appeal directed at Catholics in China, long the source of concern for his predecessor Benedict XVI.

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Catholics in China to remain loyal to the Vatican, whose authority is challenged by China's Communist rulers. China's Catholics number between 8 and 12 million and are divided between the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, which has installed bishops without …

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' fascination with the devil took on remarkable new twists Tuesday, with a well-known exorcist insisting Francis helped "liberate" a Mexican man possessed by four different demons despite the Vatican's insistence that no such papal exorcism took place.

By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lawmakers on Tuesday took a step toward imposing jail terms for offending religious feelings, approving legislation proposed after punk band Pussy Riot performed a raucous protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox Christian cathedral. Critics say the bill will give government-approved …

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Christian music singer Sandi Patty will perform the national anthem at Sunday's Indianapolis 500 for a record sixth time.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis criticized what he called "savage capitalism" on a visit to a food kitchen on Tuesday, in an address in which he called for the values of generosity and charity to be revived. "A savage capitalism has taught the logic of profit at any cost, of giving in order to get, of exploitation …

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has expressed his "closeness to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado," with special concern for "those who lost young children."

PARIS - Paris police say Notre Dame Cathedral has been evacuated after a man committed suicide in the 850-year-old monument and tourist site.