Religion News Headlines

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope, in his penultimate Sunday address to a crowded St. Peter's Square before becoming the first pontiff in centuries to resign. The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke …

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Cardinal Kurt Koch, a close aide of Pope Benedict who will cast his vote for the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, says there is no reason why the new pontiff cannot be African or Latin American. Koch, head of the Vatican department that deals with Christian unity and relations with Jews, …

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of well-wishers from around the world.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Foreign tourists and Romans packed into St. Peter's Square on Sunday for one of the last chances in history to see Pope Benedict, whose resignation caused more surprise than sadness. "I was just excited that we were going to get to see him before he resigned, and thought it would be cool to be in …

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of well-wishers from around the world.

Pope makes first St. Peter's Square window appearance since resignation announcement.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for Pope Benedict XVI's first Sunday window blessing since his stunning retirement announcement, and the second-to-last before he leaves the papacy.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The conclave to choose Pope Benedict's successor could start earlier than expected, giving the Roman Catholic Church a new leader by mid March, the Vatican said on Saturday. Less than two weeks away from a historic papal resignation, the Vatican also stressed again that the pope was not abandoning …

The long road to the conclave is well under way. But who wants to wait until then? The campaigning and quizzing about who should be the next Pope is already going on, behind the scenes, in "phone conversations" and "e-mails." How very 21st Century of the Catholic church. The New York Times reports this morning that the …

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican raised the possibility Saturday that the conclave to elect the next pope might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date possible under current rules that require a 15 to 20 day waiting period after the papacy becomes vacant.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The disgraced Roman Catholic religious order the Legion of Christ bent its own rules for a wealthy elderly woman while it also isolated her from some relatives, according to newly released court documents, and a lawyer says the moves show the order was intent on becoming the beneficiary of her $60 …

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Conventional wisdom holds that no one from the United States could be elected pope, that the superpower has more than enough worldly influence without an American in the seat of St. Peter.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - It could have been the tweet of the century. But Pope Benedict decided not to announce his resignation on Twitter, which he joined last year in a foray into social media that has reaped uncertain spiritual returns and could be curtailed by his successor. Obviously keen to avoid any leak of his resignation …

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is raising the possibility that the conclave to elect the next pope might start earlier than March 15 — the earliest date possible under current rules that require a 15-20 day waiting period after the papacy becomes vacant.

BERLIN (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI said last August that his strength was diminishing and "not much more" could be expected from him as pontiff, according to a German journalist who interviewed him for a 2010 book in which Benedict said popes should in some circumstances consider resigning.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Documents released Friday shed light on the inner workings of a secretive and now-disgraced Roman Catholic order called the Legion of Christ, including new details on how the organization took control of an elderly woman's finances and persuaded her to bequeath it $60 million.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Roman Catholic bishops stepped up their battle against President Obama's contraceptives policy on Friday by urging Congress to use its fiscal debate to free religious employers from a mandate requiring insurance coverage for birth control. In a letter to all 535 members of Congress, Archbishop …

Today in show business news: Coach Taylor is headed to Rome, Christina Ricci has a surprisingly old daughter, and Kirstie Alley will soon be on TV again.

OTTAWA - The Harper government is planning to announce its long-awaited Office of Religious Freedom in an event at a Toronto-area mosque next Tuesday.

Records of disgraced Catholic order Legion of Christ released in RI amid lawsuit over will.

The pope approved German lawyer Ernst von Freyberg to head the Vatican bank (officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion) today, according to a Reuters report. The appointment could be Benedict's last major decision before he retires at the end of the month, and Catholics are counting on von Freyberg to …

VATICAN CITY — The historic announcement of Benedict XVI that he would resign as pope Feb. 28 has set off a global guessing game as to who will take his place on the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica.