The Associated Press

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back Friday against the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco's criticism of COVID-related restrictions, saying he should "follow science" rather than advocate for fuller in-person gatherings for Mass and worship.

Not every sports team can claim Pope Francis as its honorary captain. But Athletica Vaticana — a 70-member team that includes bishops, nuns and Swiss guards — is proud to claim the pontiff as one of its own.

Soon after Joe Biden tapped Kamala Harris as his running mate, some conservatives began trying to portray her as anti-Catholic — a line of attack that President Donald Trump's campaign continues to amplify as Democrats court Roman Catholic voters.

Pope Francis is next month set to make what would be his first visit outside Rome since Italy was put under lockdown in early March when it became the first country in Europe to feel the full brunt of the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump said Friday he intends to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to longtime football coach Lou Holtz. 

Actress Juliette Binoche and fellow French environmentalists received encouragement from Pope Francis at a private Vatican meeting Thursday, where the pontiff confessed he did not understand more than a decade ago his fellow churchmens' worries about the Amazon.

Joe Biden told residents of Kenosha, Wisconsin, that recent turmoil following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, could help Americans confront centuries of systemic racism, drawing a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump amid a reckoning that has galvanized the nation.

A former Catholic brother has been extradited from his home state of Wisconsin to Mississippi, where he faces sexual battery charges in a case involving two impoverished Black boys who say they were pressured as men into accepting paltry payouts to settle their abuse claims.

A former Roman Catholic bishop in West Virginia has issued an apology two years after resigning amid allegations of sexual and financial misconduct, and the diocese said Aug. 20 that he has repaid $441,000.

FBI agents arrested Fr. Michael Zacharias, 53 on child sex trafficking charges, saying they think the priest has been engaged in sexual conduct with minors since the late 1990s

The Ganges is far more than just a river. It is religion, industry, farming and politics. It is a source of water for millions of people, and an immense septic system that endures millions of gallons of raw sewage.

Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic dioceses have been hit with about 150 lawsuits from people who say they were sexually abused as children by priests and hope a state court decision last year has shown a way around time limits for legal claims.

Pope Francis continued cleaning house in Poland on Aug. 13 following revelations of clergy sexual abuse and cover-up, replacing the powerful archbishop of Gdansk on his 75th birthday.

A coalition of activists, unions, and religious leaders inspired by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s last organizing effort said Aug. 11 new data suggest low-income voters in key states could swing some U.S. Senate races. 

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has fallen ill after his return from a trip to his native Bavaria to visit his brother, who died a month ago, a German newspaper reported Monday.

A nonpartisan Christian organization that seeks to end hunger said Saturday it asked for and received the resignation of Rep. Ted Yoho from its board of directors following what it called his "verbal attack" on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The history of Black Catholics in the U.S. is a dramatic mix of struggles and breakthroughs, but it has been largely ignored in the curriculum of Catholic schools. That may soon change.

A judge has denied a request by news organizations including The Associated Press to unseal court records involving the mental competency of billionaire Tom Benson when he rewrote his will to give his third wife ownership of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans sports franchises.

A fire early July 11 destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.