roman catholic church News

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Pilgrims, Clergy Come to Bethlehem for Christmas

BETHLEHEM, West Bank - The traditional birthplace of Jesus is celebrating its merriest Christmas in years, as tens of thousands of tourists thronged Bethlehem on Friday for the annual holiday festivities in this biblical West Bank town. Officials said the turnout was shaping up to be the largest since 2000. Unseasonably...

Unsealed Calif. Church Papers Show Abuse Allegations

SAN DIEGO (Oct. 24) -- Attorneys for nearly 150 people who claim sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests made nearly 10,000 pages of previously sealed internal church documents public Sunday, revealing at least one previously unknown decades-old case in which a priest under police investigation was allowed to leave the U.S....

Pope Creates First Australian Saint, 5 Others

VATICAN CITY (Oct. 17) -- Pope Benedict XVI gave Australia its first saint on Sunday, canonizing a 19th century nun who was briefly excommunicated and also declaring five other saints in a Mass attended by tens of thousands of people. Speaking in Latin on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict solemnly read out the...

Police: 5 Men Arrested Over Alleged Pope Threat

LONDON (Sept. 17) -- An alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI led to the pre-dawn arrests of five men in London on Friday on the second day of the pontiff's trip to Britain, police said. The Vatican said the pope was calm and so far planned no changes to his schedule. The men, between the ages of 26 and 50, were detained...

Vatican Hints It May Try to Sway Iran in Adultery Case

(Sept. 5) -- The Vatican on Sunday suggested that it might work behind the scenes to try to dissuade Iran from executing a widow convicted of adultery. The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani had drawn worldwide attention. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Catholic church opposes the death penalty in...