International Court Judges Authorize Rohingya Investigation
International Criminal Court judges on Thursday approved a request from prosecutors to open an investigation into crimes committed against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
Read moreReligion
Bishop Who Probed Sex Abuse Accused of Sex Abuse
A Roman Catholic bishop named by Pope Francis to investigate the church’s response to clergy sexual abuse in Buffalo, New York, has himself been accused of sexual abuse of a child, an attorney for the alleged victim notified the church this week.
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Pope Demands Tech Firms Protect Kids From Porn
Pope Francis is demanding that Facebook, Apple, Google and other tech companies take measures to remove child porn from the web and to prevent children from seeing pornography online.
Read moreExecution of Buddhist Inmate in Texas Delayed Again
The Fifth Circuit agreed that a Buddhist death-row inmate’s new claims of disparate treatment should be vetted, upholding a stay of his execution that was set for Wednesday night.
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Australia’s Highest Court Will Hear Cardinal Pell’s Appeal
Australia’s highest court agreed Wednesday to hear an appeal from the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children, giving Cardinal George Pell his last chance at getting his convictions overturned.
Read moreSexual Assault
A Cochise County, Arizona jail inmate claims in state court that a jail chaplain forced her to give him oral sex in the jail.
Read moreIranian Beauty Queen Wins Asylum in Philippines
An Iranian beauty queen sought by Tehran on criminal charges has been granted political asylum in the Philippines, an official said Friday, ending a three-week standoff at Manila airport.
Read moreReligious Beliefs
A father was properly convicted of manslaughter for the death of his 12-year-old daughter, an Oregon appeals court ruled. The man and his wife did not seek medical care for their child, who died of ketoacidosis. The lower court properly introduced evidence the man avoided traditional medical care due to his religious beliefs and “looked to God to heal the body.”
Read moreIndian Couple Stoned to Death for Marrying Outside Caste
Relatives of an Indian woman who married outside her caste and fled her home to escape punishment stoned her and her husband to death after the couple returned to their village to visit family, police said Thursday.
Read moreTennessee Cop Accused of Groping Minors Faces Fourth Lawsuit
A sheriff’s deputy in southeast Tennessee accused of groping underage girls and baptizing a woman under duress was hit with a fourth lawsuit Wednesday.
Read moreMost Americans Fine With Unmarried Couples Living Together
American attitudes toward the practice of what used to be called “living in sin” have shifted, according to a study released by the Pew Research Center on Wednesday.
Read moreStates Defeat Moral-Objection Rule for Health Care
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to let medical workers refuse services, including abortions, based on their religious beliefs and moral objections.
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Details Emerge of Massacre in Mexico
The eight children, some mere infants, who survived the ambush in northern Mexico escaped the drug cartel gunmen who killed their mothers but managed to hide in the brush, with some walking miles to get help despite grisly bullet wounds.
Read moreRobbers Ram-Raid Car Into French Cathedral, Steal Treasures
Robbers rammed a car into a medieval cathedral in southwest France early Monday, breaking windows and sawing through metal bars to grab silver chalices and other irreplaceable church treasures, local authorities said.
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Trump Fires Up Religious Critics With Job for Televangelist
The ascension of Paula White as an official member of Donald Trump’s White House highlights how closely the president is relying on his inner circle of evangelical Christian supporters as he fights an impeachment probe during his reelection bid — while giving liberal evangelicals a new opening to push back at his administration’s mingling of religion and policymaking.
Read moreMuslim Inmate Challenges Prison TV Ban in Fourth Circuit
A Fourth Circuit panel seemed willing Thursday to revive a Muslim inmate’s lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Corrections over a ban on watching religious services on TV.
Read moreGreece Can’t Force Parents to Reveal Beliefs for Religious Exemption
The Greek government cannot require parents to declare they are not Orthodox Christians to exempt their children from religious studies, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday.
Read moreJudge Questions Validity of Religious Conscience Health Care Rule
A federal judge on Wednesday voiced serious concerns about the Trump administration’s expanded protections for health care workers with religious objections, finding it may impose new requirements on health care providers not authorized by law.
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Minnesota Clergy Want Bishop’s Name off ICE Building
Clergy and immigration activists in Minnesota are trying to remove the name of a revered bishop from a federal building where hundreds of deportation orders are issued every year, calling the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown an affront to his memory.
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Vatican’s Secret Archive Is Not So Secret Anymore
Pope Francis has declared that the Vatican Secret Archive isn’t so secret after all. Francis on Monday changed the name of the Holy See archive to remove what he said were “negative” connotations of having “secret” in its name.
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