The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland faces calls to resign. Peter Taggart explains why.
Pope Benedict XVI visits Cuba following the Vatican-brokered release of political prisoners. Patrick Oppmann reports.
Cuban President Raul Castro has granted Pope Benedict XVI's request to make Good Friday a holiday -- at least this year -- Cuban state media reported Saturday.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports on Pope Benedict's Havana Mass and his meetings with the Castro brothers.
A Texas judge denied the appeal of fundamentalist sect leader Warren Jeffs on Thursday, the same day a jury considered testimony to determine how to sentence a key figure in his church after his own bigamy conviction.
Greeted by throngs of Catholic worshipers from across the region, Pope Benedict XVI ended his two-country tour in Havana's Revolution Plaza with a reference to what he described as a need for "authentic freedom."
Pope Benedict XVI presided over Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, delivering a homily that focused on the "essence" of the holiday rather than the "commercial celebration" it has become.
Pope Benedict XVI speaks about the need for peace in his Christmas Eve Mass.
Consider this. On December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire and started a dramatic remaking of the political landscape. The striking of a match brought change not only in Tunisia, but also in Egypt and Libya, and even what is happening in Syria.
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Havana on Tuesday amid speculation over whether he will meet with the island's former president, Fidel Castro, and how far he'll press the country for greater political and religious freedoms.
Thousands of Catholics greet Pope Benedict XVI in an open air Mass in central Mexico.
Cubans return home to emotional homecomings ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports.
CNN's Rafael Romo says Pope Benedict XVI wearing a sombrero holds significant symbolism for the Mexican people.
Opening statements are scheduled for Monday in Philadelphia in the first case in which an official of a Roman Catholic archdiocese has been accused of protecting abusive priests by moving them from parish to parish.
Opening arguments are scheduled for Monday in Philadelphia in the first case in which an official of a Roman Catholic archdiocese has been accused of protecting abusive priests by moving them from parish to parish.
On the same day Pope Benedict addressed and blessed a group of 1,800 children in Guanajuato, Mexico, three Mexican authors released a book accusing the Vatican of hiding or ignoring cases of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
Pope Benedict XVI begins a Latin American tour in historical Guanajuato, Mexico. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
The Mexican government is spending millions of dollars to welcome the pope. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
It has been a project of celestial proportions, but it's finally ready. Construction workers have labored nonstop for months.
There was a time when the Republican Party was strictly for White Anglo Saxon Protestants. It was an alliance between Country Club Episcopalians and twice born followers of the Old Time Gospel, all firmly opposed to mass Catholic immigration from Europe. The nativism of the GOP drove Catholics into the welcoming arms of Al Smith, Jack Kennedy, Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Party.
It was an exciting day for Laura Dominguez and her 11-year-old daughter Paulina.
A papal visit to Mexico is likely to be overshadowed by the previous pope. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
Thousands of people flooded into Cairo's Abbasiya Cathedral Tuesday to say a final farewell to Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Christians for more than four decades.
Mourners pay their respects at the funeral of Coptic Pope Shenouda III who died on Saturday. CNN's Ian Lee reports.
Thousands of miles from a bloody shooting in southern France, Jewish and municipal leaders voiced concerns and vowed to bolster protections for schools, neighborhoods and synagogues while noting they have no indication any fresh, faraway attacks are imminent.
Cuban authorities have released dozens of members of the "Ladies in White" group after detaining them, a dissident said Monday.
Overcrowding inside a cathedral where Coptic Christians had gathered to pay last respects to their pope caused a stampede that left three people dead and more than 50 injured, a health official said.
Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Christian community for nearly four decades, died Saturday, according to the head of the Egyptian General Coptic Association. He was 88.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the 85 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, announced Friday he will step down from his post at the end of the year.
The Archbishop of Canterbury appeals to President Mugabe to end the persecution of Anglicans. Nkepile Mabuse reports.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann moves from Seattle to Havana, Cuba.
Thirteen Cubans who occupied a church in Havana in the hopes of meeting with the pope instead were escorted from the building late Thursday by police, the Havana Archdiocese said.
Sen. Rick Santorum, who is campaigning to become America's second Catholic president, disagrees from the bottom of his gut with the first Catholic to hold the office.
CNN's Susan Candiotti reports on a memo that says a Philadephia cardinal ordered a priest sex abuse file shredded.
A judge on Monday rejected a motion to dismiss charges against a Philadelphia archdiocese official accused of covering up evidence of suspected sexual abuse of children.
There are two Rick Santorums: The first one I might not agree with, but the second one truly scares me.
A poll released Wednesday showed Rick Santorum maintaining his lead nationwide among likely Republican voters, topping his closest rival Mitt Romney by a margin of nine percentage points.
Pope Benedict appointed 22 new cardinals at the Vatican on Saturday, with his choices for the lofty role likely to influence who will be appointed as the next pontiff.
A top Roman Catholic official opened a conference on protecting children from sexual abuse Monday by defending Pope Benedict XVI, arguing that he deserved thanks for his efforts.
CNN's Susan Hendricks interviews Brent Strawn, who teaches about the Old Testament at Candler School of Theology.
Bishop Eddie Long has apologized to the Anti-Defamation League over an incident in which he was wrapped in a Torah scroll and crowned "king."
The Catholic church is outraged at new contraception rules. CNN's Brianna Keilar has more.
Recently, the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Religious Liberty argued that the Obama administration's requirement that most health insurance plans cover contraception goes against "the mandate of Jesus Christ."
Two prominent Muslim civil liberties groups called for Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to resign on Thursday because of his participation in a film that they say paints all Muslims as terrorists.
A federal appeals court has blocked an Oklahoma voter-approved measure barring state judges from considering Islamic and international law in their decisions.
A long-time follower of a jailed polygamist sect leader says he has been ex-communicated after admitting to having sex with his wife -- a violation of an order that Warren Jeffs apparently issued from behind bars.
A Russian court has rejected a petition that sought to ban a Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's most important texts.
Pope Benedict XVI prayed for peace in Syria, reconciliation in Myanmar, and comfort in flood-stricken Thailand and the Philippines in his annual Christmas message "To the City and the World" on Sunday.
Pope Benedict XVI confirmed plans Monday to visit Mexico and Cuba before Easter.
If there is one institution that has made a point of desperately trying to keep women in their place, it's organized religion.
The Archdiocese of Chicago will pay $3.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged church leaders failed to remove a priest they knew had sexually abused minors, the plaintiff's attorneys said Tuesday.
As Zoroastrian funerary processions enter the graveyard overlooking the Tehran suburb of Ray, their sobriety is often shattered by the sound of explosions and gunfire. Frequently, the way forward is blocked by Islamic Revolutionary Guards conducting a combat exercise among the tombs. According to Zoroastrian custom, burial needs to take place within 24 hours, and the Revolutionary Guards will not halt their training activities there for the funerals.
Each year, faithful Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. CNN's Nima Elbagir describes their journey.
Each year, more than 3 million Muslims commit to Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that represents the fifth and final "pillar" of Islam and the largest annual human gathering on the planet. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able to do so is expected to make this pilgrimage once in their lifetime.
Pope Benedict XVI is planning potential trips to Mexico and Cuba in 2012, the Vatican said.
Today, Keivan Mohammad Hassan lives a peaceful life with his family as a civil engineer in Sacramento, California. But things could easily be very different.
Officials with Libya's interim government are reassuring the West that their religious views are moderate, after the country's interim leader called for the country's new laws to be based on Sharia, or Islamic law.
Iranian media outlets have "systematically stirred up" widespread contempt toward the country's 300,000-strong Baha'i religious minority, the group says.
One of the 78 wives of jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs left the Arizona community of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this week and is receiving medical treatment at a shelter, authorities said.
Israel's government approved an extraordinary deal Tuesday night -- agreeing to release more than 1,000 Palestinians from prison, including hundreds serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis, in exchange for a single slender young Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
Israel's ambassador to the UK says Hamas was pressured into the prisoner swap by the Arab Spring.
The Rev. Robert Jeffress, a leading evangelical minister, claimed last Friday that Mormons are not Christians. Jeffress went on to declare that Mormonism is "a cult," meaning it's not a "real" religion, and he implored his followers to reject Mitt Romney, a Mormon, as a candidate for president because as Jeffress sees it: "As Christians, we have the duty to prefer and select Christians as our leaders."
Egypt's military rulers have rejected the resignation of Hazen Beblawi, a top official who served as both the deputy prime minister and finance minister.
Muslims and Christians alike say Egypt's generals have to go following clashes that left at least 25 dead on Sunday.
Violence has returned to the streets of Cairo -- this time in fresh confrontations between army forces and pro-Coptic Christian protesters.
Thomas Jefferson famously wrote about the wall of separation between church and state. He didn't mention separating church and politics, but everybody knows it's a sticky wicket.
The archbishop of Canterbury tries to heal rifts in the Anglican church of Zimbabwe, Nkepile Mabuse reports
Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said Monday that clashes hours earlier between army forces and pro-Coptic Christian protesters had "brought us back" to the tense, violent period at the onset of the recent revolution.
Pope Benedict XVI said goodbye to his native Germany on Sunday, capping a packed four-day visit in which he met with political and religious leaders in a country that -- like many others in Europe -- has seen growing disenchantment with the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict XVI meets members of the Muslim community in Germany. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.
On the third day of his visit to his native Germany, Pope Benedict XVI made two stops Saturday straddling the lines of history that have divided the country violently -- in past decades into Communist east and democratic west and in past centuries into mostly Protestant north and stalwart Catholic south.
Pope Benedict XVI met Friday with a group of people who had been sexually abused by clergy in his native Germany, where disenchantment with the Roman Catholic Church has grown in the wake of the scandal.
On his first state visit to his homeland, Pope Benedict XVI met Thursday with Germany's prime minister and president and spoke to legislators, but insisted that his purpose was not economic or political, but spiritual.
These days, Republicans are hardly shy about coveting Jewish votes.
Egypt has forbidden the picking and exporting of palm fronds used in the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot, leaving Israel scrambling to make up for the shortage.
Lotus Capital Managing Director, Hajara Adeola discusses the fundamental principals of Islamic banking.
Home to some 70 million Muslims, Nigeria is stepping up efforts to capitalize on the growing popularity of the one of the world's fastest-growing financial sectors: Islamic banking.
Ireland stepped up its battle with the Roman Catholic Church over child abuse Sunday, with Justice Minister Alan Shatter vowing to pass a law requiring priests to report suspicions of child abuse, even if they learn about them in confession.
The Vatican has rejected criticism that church leaders sought to cover up extensive abuse of young people by priests in Ireland, in a lengthy statement sent to the Irish government Saturday.
For Christians, the wild celebrations of Mardi Gras come before the solemnity of Lent, a last chance to celebrate before the abstinence marking the 40 days to Good Friday and Easter.
CNN's Jim Clancy has more on reported violence during Eid-al-Fitr celebrations in Syria.
CNN's Gary Tuchman and 3TV reporter Michael Watkiss discuss polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs' guilty verdict.
In a growing toll, 18 officers and two civilians were killed in an attack on a military academy in Algeria, the country's ministry of defense said Saturday.
Egyptian Gabriel Khoury's first foray into television drama "Dawaran Chobra" is being watched by millions on four channels every night during the holy month of Ramadan.
Pope Benedict XVI is in Madrid, Spain for World Youth Day. CNN's Al Goodman reports.
Rio de Janeiro will host the next World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI announced Sunday to hundreds of thousands of young Roman Catholic pilgrims at the close of this year's event in Madrid.
Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Madrid for World Youth Day, but demonstrators protest over the cost of the pontiff's visit.
Catholic youths should not hide their beliefs from their peers, Pope Benedict XVI told them in a World Youth Day speech delivered Thursday in Spain.
A man arrested in Madrid on suspicion of planning an attack against a demonstration to protest the visit of Pope Benedict XVI was a volunteer for the papal visit's organizing committee, a committee senior spokesman said Wednesday.
Critics say hosting Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid for World Youth Day is too costly. CNN's Al Goodman reports.
Evidence against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs include audiotapes and images showing him and his wives.
Warren Jeffs leaves the courthouse after being sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting children.
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is found guilty on both counts of sexual assault of a child.
A Texas jury finds polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs guilty on two counts of sexual assault.
Last-minute shopping before the start of the Muslim month of Ramadan brought back bustle and commercial activity to the center of a city that is increasingly showing strain from Libya's grinding civil war.
Should France ban the wearing of veils covering women from head to toe?
Thousands of ultra-orthodox and nationalist right-wing Israelis rallied peacefully outside Jerusalem's Supreme Court Monday night in a public display aimed at expressing solidarity with two rabbis recently detained in a police probe into incitement surrounding a controversial religious text published two years ago.
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