TheRepublic.com - Religion News

Attorney: $19.6M settlement in priest abuse case

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:31:18 -0400

CHICAGO - An attorney for six men who claim they were abused by a now-defrocked priest says Jesuit officials have agreed to pay $19.6 million to settle his clients' lawsuit.

The pope and the devil: Is Francis an exorcist?

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:08:03 -0400

VATICAN CITY - Is Pope Francis an exorcist?

Myanmar Muslims jailed for killing Buddhist monk

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:23:25 -0400

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar - A Myanmar court sentenced seven Muslims to prison - one of them to a life term - in the killing of a Buddhist monk amid deadly sectarian violence that was overwhelmingly directed against minority Muslims but has produced no serious charges against the members of the country's Buddhist majority.

Tibetan monks in Baton Rouge without Dalai Lama

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:08:04 -0400

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - A dozen Tibetan monks are in Baton Rouge. They're spending five days creating an intricate artwork from colored sand, only to destroy it.

Dalai Lama to spread message to students

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:36:33 -0400

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - The Dalai Lama is spreading his message of non-violence and compassion to a group of Kentucky students.

Boston cardinal skips event over Irish PM's role

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:33:42 -0400

BOSTON - Cardinal Sean O'Malley skipped Boston College's commencement Monday to protest its decision to honor Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who backs legislation to permit abortion, and O'Malley's views were echoed outside the ceremony by a few dozen anti-abortion activists.

NJ ex-priest arrested after working with kids

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:20:43 -0400

A New Jersey priest who resigned this month after admitting he worked unsupervised with young people despite a legal agreement that barred him from doing so was arrested Monday.

Attacks kill 95 in Iraq, hint of Syrian spillover

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:30:49 -0400

BAGHDAD - Iraq's wave of bloodshed sharply escalated Monday with more than a dozen car bombings across the country, part of attacks that killed at least 95 people and brought echoes of past sectarian carnage and fears of a dangerous spillover from Syria's civil war next door.

Tunisian feminist arrested for alleged provocation

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:21:55 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia - A Tunisian feminist who scandalized her country by posting topless photos of herself online has been arrested after allegedly sneaking into Tunisia's holiest city disguised in a veil, then trying to get undressed during a protest.

Egypt: Security beefed up in Sinai after abduction

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:33:11 -0400

CAIRO - Dozens of Egyptian troops and armored vehicles moved into Sinai Monday as the government beefed up security in the volatile peninsula after the abduction of six policemen and a border guard by suspected Islamic militants.

Pa. priest removed in 2009 faces new pornography charge

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:14:31 -0400

PITTSBURGH - A Roman Catholic priest who was removed from public ministry in 2009 after an allegation of past child sex abuse later deemed "credible" by his bishop has now been indicted on a federal charge of possessing child pornography.

Atheists to put books next to Bibles in Ga. parks

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:10:13 -0400

ATLANTA - A national atheist group said Monday that it will donate its literature for use in cabins and lodges in Georgia's state parks after the governor's recent decision to allow Bibles there.

State Dept: Reports of anti-Semitism increase

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:02:41 -0400

WASHINGTON - The State Department appointed a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism Monday as a new report documents a global increase in incidents of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Stained glass windows on Bay City church get fix

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:24 -0400

BAY CITY, Michigan - Faded, darkened and broken glass obscured the beautiful stained glass windows in the nave of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bay City.

Retired Anglican priest jailed for sex abuse

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:30:46 -0400

LONDON - A retired Church of England priest was jailed for 10 years Monday after a jury found him guilty of 36 separate sex offenses against children in the 1960s and 1970s.

High court to weigh in on legislative prayers

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:01:20 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a new case on the intersection of religion and government in a dispute over prayers used to open public meetings.

Cartel towns pose challenge for immigration reform

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:38:30 -0400

MATAMOROS, Mexico - Just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, stands a dormitory-style shelter filled with people recently deported from the U.S. and other migrants waiting to cross the border.

Groundbreaking female Indianapolis rabbi retires

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:34:08 -0400

INDIANAPOLIS - A groundbreaking female rabbi has retired from her Indianapolis congregation.

Vandals target Israeli women's prayer group

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:42:56 -0400

JERUSALEM - Israeli police say vandals have spray-panted slogans on the home of one of the leaders of a liberal Jewish women's group that has angered ultra-Orthodox communities over its demands for equality of worship.

Billy Graham on camera: new message out this fall

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:02:14 -0400

MONTREAT, North Carolina - Christian evangelist Billy Graham may be hampered by age and declining health, but he isn't done preaching yet.

Correction: Tunisia-Salafi Crackdown story

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:56:33 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia - In a May 15 story about the Tunisian government taking a harder line on preaching by ultraconservative Muslim groups ahead of this past weekend's conference by the group known as Ansar al-Shariah, The Associated Press reported erroneously that about 40,000 people attended the group's conference last year. About 4,000 people attended the conference in Kairouan in 2012.

Maine Catholic church closing its doors

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:05:03 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine - Another Catholic church is shutting its doors in Maine.

Pope: church should open up but follow teaching

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:16:03 -0400

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is calling for renewal in the Catholic church as he wrapped up two days of mass gatherings in St. Peter's Square aimed at energizing the faithful.

Pope leads pep rally at Vatican, meets with Merkel

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:27:07 -0400

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis lamented that investment losses by banks trigger more alarm in the economic crisis than the struggle of people to feed their families, as he led a huge rally Saturday to invigorate the church's moral conscience, hours after he held talks at the Vatican about the economic crisis with Germany's leader.

Diocese of Manchester pays $2K to settle lawsuit

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:58:15 -0400

CONCORD, New Hampshire - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester is paying $2,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing a priest of making inappropriate comments to a 14-year-old boy during confession.