Religion News

NEW YORK (AFP) - The uneasy relationship between the Kennedy clan and the Catholic Church turned into open warfare Monday after a bishop said he was refusing communion to Patrick Kennedy due to his pro-abortion stand. Full Story »

ST. LOUIS - The priest at a predominantly Polish Roman Catholic church in St. Louis at odds with the archdiocese says he's willing to step down if it will help the parish. Full Story »

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A bitter dispute over abortion that prompted Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop to ask Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion has revealed the depth of the divide among Catholics over how politicians should reconcile their faith with their public duties. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The nephew of ex-president John F. Kennedy, a US lawmaker, has been barred from receiving communion at his Catholic church due to his support for abortion rights, a newspaper reported Sunday. Full Story »

TAXILA, Pakistan (AFP) - Archaeologists warn that the Taliban are destroying Pakistan's ancient Gandhara heritage and rich Buddhist legacy as pilgrimage and foreign research dries up in the country's northwest. Full Story »

AMES, Iowa - The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: "Ask an Atheist." Full Story »

VATICAN CITY - After offering a home in his church to disaffected Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI assured the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that he is still committed to seeking closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans. Full Story »

MOSCOW - A gunman killed a Russian Orthodox priest in his Moscow church and seriously wounded the reverend's assistant, officials said Friday. Full Story »

GENEVA - Four years after cartoons of the prophet Muhammad set off violent protests across the Muslim world, Islamic nations are mounting a campaign for an international treaty to protect religious symbols and beliefs from mockery — essentially a ban on blasphemy that would put them on a collision course with free speech laws in the West. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan. Full Story »

BALTIMORE - Fallout continues from the summer controversy over the University of Notre Dame awarding an honorary degree to President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights. Full Story »

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Terverius Black believes in hip-hop gospel so much he sold his first home to get the money needed to start his Christian-themed entertainment company. Full Story »

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard said he will continue to hold weekly prayer meetings at his home, three years after he was ousted from the church he founded amid a scandal involving a male prostitute and drug use. Full Story »

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI called Wednesday for greater international efforts to ensure basic human rights for children, saying he was praying for all young people who suffer. Full Story »

GRANITE FALLS, Wash. - Granite Falls residents are suspicious of any newcomers, let alone a Muslim native of Pakistan who moved to this rugged, blue-collar mining town to open his own bar. Full Story »

BALTIMORE - The nation's Roman Catholic bishops have affirmed that the church defines marriage between one man and one woman, and sex is meant for procreation. Full Story »

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - A New Jersey high school student claims in a federal lawsuit that school administrators violated her First Amendment free-speech and religious-freedom rights when they said she couldn't participate in a day of silent protest against abortion. Full Story »

LONDON - Two of Britain's most high-profile Muslim extremists have been given free rein to recruit fellow inmates in prison and are spreading propaganda from behind bars, a think-tank founded by two former Islamic radicals said Monday. Full Story »