The Associated Press

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Nov. 23 sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and two former church leaders, alleging they covered up allegations of sexual misconduct and misused charitable assets by supporting predatory priests who were allowed to retire or go on leave.

With no papal travels abroad this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis is cheering efforts for a youth jamboree, traditionally attended by pontiffs, in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2023.

Four accusers of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have sued the Vatican, arguing it should be held liable for allowing the now-disgraced cleric to serve in multiple positions when it knew of numerous allegations of sexual abuse against him. 

The Vatican cardinal sacked by Pope Francis amid a corruption investigation is suing an Italian news magazine, claiming that his ruined reputation has eliminated his chances of becoming pope and will undermine the legitimacy of any future papal election.

California-based Bishop Oscar Cantú confirmed Wednesday that he is under investigation by the Vatican for his handling of abuse and misconduct cases in his former diocese in the Las Cruces area of southern New Mexico.

While gearing up for the inauguration of Joe Biden, whose vice president will be a Black woman and who has already promised to expand the number of refugees next year by a factor of 10, religious activists on the left are wrestling with how to keep their momentum.

West Virginia's attorney general cannot use a consumer protection law to sue a Roman Catholic diocese over sexual abuse allegations, the state's high court said Monday.

An Australian agency said Nov. 11 it was not investigating the transfer of Vatican funds to Australia because of a lack of evidence of wrongdoing, undermining speculation that the money might be linked to the overturned convictions of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse.

A prominent Polish cardinal who was recently sanctioned by the Vatican over sexual abuse allegations has been hospitalized since last week and remains unconscious, Polish media reported Tuesday. 

High-profile Australian journalists and large media organizations went on trial on Monday on charges that they breached a gag order on reporting about Cardinal George Pell's sex abuse convictions in 2018 that have since been overturned.

A number of accusers have come forward in the past two years, and the 90-year-old McCarrick and the various archdioceses where he was stationed are facing lawsuits.

A sexual assault trial for the Vatican's former ambassador to France went ahead without him Nov. 10 after he produced a doctor's note saying it was too dangerous for him to travel from Rome to Paris in the midst of France's resurgent coronavirus epidemic.

Police carried off protesters blocking a street in Poland's capital Monday, the 19th straight day of nationwide anti-government protests that were triggered by the tightening of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s abortion law.

The Vatican has imposed sanctions on a prominent Polish cardinal, retired Archbishop Henryk Gulbinowicz, after he was accused of sexually abusing a seminarian and of covering up abuse in another case.

Monks at a Catholic college in New Hampshire have settled a dispute with the school’s board of trustees over the amount of influence they wield.

The Vatican has ordered an investigation into allegations that a now-retired archbishop in Poland was negligent in investigating reports of sex abuse of minors by priests in his Gdansk archdiocese. 

Mourners lit candles and prayed silently Oct. 30 to honor three people killed in a knife attack at a church, as France heightened security at potential targets at home and abroad amid outrage over its defense of the right to publish cartoons mocking the prophet of Islam.

Latino men — like men of other groups — have supported Trump more than Hispanic women, and in some cases, in contrast to members of their own families. 

Pope Francis has blamed “this lady called COVID” for forcing him to keep his distance again from the faithful during his general audience, which was far smaller than usual amid soaring coronavirus infections in Italy.

People across Poland are vowing to stay off their jobs on Oct. 28 as part of a nationwide strike to protest a top court ruling that bans abortions in cases of congenitally damaged fetuses.