Roman Catholic priests, deacons and bishops across the Amazon are voicing surprise, resignation and reluctant acceptance of Pope Francis’ refusal to allow married men to be ordained priests.

In the past few decades religious leaders and communities of faith have shifted how they deal with suicide.

Why would the NFL’s New Orleans Saints strike a behind-the-scenes alliance with the Catholic Church on an issue as emotionally fraught as clergy sex abuse?  It’s a question even die-hard fans are asking in a Catholic city where football is a religion of its own

A Roman Catholic diocese in Massachusetts has suspended a retired priest after a review of files found an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor dating to about 20 years ago, church officials said.

The administrator of the elite Catholic school in Cancun, Mexico, used to take the girls out of class and send them to the chapel, where the priest from the Legion of Christ religious order would sexually abuse them.

The Vatican cardinal who co-authored a bombshell book with Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI reaffirming priestly celibacy on Tuesday strongly denied he manipulated the retired pope into publishing.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence to reaffirm the value of priestly celibacy, co-authoring a bombshell book at the precise moment that Pope Francis is weighing whether to allow married men to be ordained to address the Catholic priest shortage.

A Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to two counts of “unnatural acts” with a minor for accusations of sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s. James Randall Gillette was sentenced to five years of probation in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Jan. 2, according to court records. More serious charges of child rape and indecent assault and battery on…

The Samples were a black Chicago family, with six children and few resources. The priest helped them with tuition, clothes, bills. He offered the promise of opportunities — a better life. He also abused all the children. They told no one. They were afraid of not being believed and of losing what little they had, said one son, Terrence Sample….

Thousands of mourners, including many firefighters, lined the streets of Worcester Monday to pay their final respects to fallen fire Lt. Jason Menard, who died while saving others during a fire last week. Firefighters from as far as California and Canada were among a sea of first responders who came to salute the fallen lieutenant under drizzly skies as his...

The Associated Press has found that more than 900 clergy members accused of child sexual abuse are missing from the lists of credibly accused priests released by the Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders. Victims advocates had long criticized the church for not making public the names of credibly accused priests. Now, despite the release of nearly 5,300 names,...

The Associated Press has found that more than 900 clergy members accused of child sexual abuse are missing from the lists of credibly accused priests released by the Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders. Victims advocates had long criticized the church for not making public the names of credibly accused priests.

Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in the new year as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review.

Pope Francis offered a Christmas message of hope Wednesday against darkness that cloaks conflicts and relationships in large parts of the world from the Middle East to the Americas to Africa. The pope told tens of thousands of tourists, pilgrims and Romans gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the annual Christmas Day message that “the light of Christ is...

Pope Francis assured the faithful on Christmas Eve that God loves everyone — “even the worst of us” — as he celebrated the joyous birth of Christ after a less-than-joyful year of scandals and opposition. With a choir singing the classic Christmas hymn “The First Noel,” Francis processed down the center aisle of St. Peter’s Basilica late Tuesday and unveiled…

The Vatican office responsible for processing clergy sex abuse complaints has seen a record 1,000 cases reported from around the world this year, including from countries it had not heard from before — suggesting that the worst may be yet to come in a crisis that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church....

Nearly two decades after the Vatican assumed responsibility for...

The Japanese bishops’ conference launched a nationwide investigation into sexual abuse of women and children this year, responding to the Vatican’s demand for an urgent response to the global crisis. The results haven’t been disclosed. Similar studies have been carried out by the U.S., German and Dutch churches.

A vast survey of the Roman Catholic Church workforce in America shows the people who know best how the church is run – the employees themselves – are deeply split on key issues facing parishes across nation. The survey reveals diocesan priests are far more likely to view clergy abuse as a problem of the past, while nuns and other religious…

The bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Buffalo has resigned following widespread criticism over how he handled allegations of clergy sexual misconduct. Pope Francis has accepted Bishop Richard Malone’s resignation and named the bishop of Albany, New York, to run the Buffalo diocese temporarily until a permanent replacement is found.

At the end of another long day trying to sign up new clients accusing the Roman Catholic Church of sexual abuse, lawyer Adam Slater gazes out the window of his high-rise Manhattan office at one of the great symbols of the church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.