Pope Francis

Families walk along Mexico City's Reforma Avenue during Day of the Dead celebrations, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

The Latest: Mexico estimates its caseload above 1 million

Oct. 21, 2020 9:29 PM EDT

MEXICO CITY — Mexican health officials estimated Wednesday that the country has risen above 1 million coronavirus cases, though the figure includes both confirmed infections as well as suspected cases. Officials put the country’s apparent deaths from COVID-19 at 102,293, again including cases in...

Pope Francis listens to a priests introducing the group of faithful attending the weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Divided reactions in US as pope backs same-sex civil unions

Oct. 21, 2020 6:20 PM EDT

LGBTQ Catholics and their allies in the U.S. welcomed Pope Francis’ endorsement of same-sex civil unions, the first time he’s done so as pontiff, while some prominent members including a bishop said Wednesday that he was blatantly contradicting church teaching. Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence,...

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2019 file photo, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the tolerance minister of the United Arab Emirates, speaks to The Associated Press in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The chair of Britain's Hay literary festival said Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, that the event will not return to Abu Dhabi after one of the festival's curators alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Sheikh Nahyan while working with him. When asked about the allegation by the AP, the UAE's Foreign Ministry said it does not comment on personal matters. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

UK festival curator accuses UAE minister of sex assault

Oct. 21, 2020 5:50 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — The chair of Britain’s Hay literary festival said Sunday the event will not return to Abu Dhabi after one of the festival’s curators alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the tolerance minister of the United Arab Emirates while working with him. Lawyers for the minister...

Pope Francis, center, makes the sign of the cross during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Francis becomes 1st pope to endorse same-sex civil unions

Oct. 21, 2020 5:36 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis became the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions in comments for a documentary that premiered Wednesday, sparking cheers from gay Catholics and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue. The papal thumbs-up came...

Pope Francis meets with bishops in the Paul VI hall on the occasion of the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope reverts to mask-less old ways amid growing criticism

Oct. 21, 2020 3:20 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — A day after donning a face mask for the first time during a liturgical service, Pope Francis was back to his mask-less old ways Wednesday despite surging coronavirus infections across Europe and growing criticism of his behavior and the example he is setting. Francis shunned a face mask again...

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2020, file photo, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of a private Christian school that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

Barrett was trustee at private school with anti-gay policies

Oct. 21, 2020 3:01 PM EDT

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of private Christian schools that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom. The policies that discriminated against...

Migrants from Morocco walk along the shore escorted by Spanish Police after arriving at the coast of the Canary Island, crossing the Atlantic Ocean sailing on a wooden boat on Tuesday, Oct.20, 2020. Some 1,000 migrants have spent the night again sleeping in emergency tents in a dock while authorities in the Canary Islands complain that the Spanish government keeps blocking transfers of newly arrived migrants to the mainland over coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)

Spanish islands struggle with migration surge amid pandemic

Oct. 21, 2020 10:22 AM EDT

MASPALOMAS, Spain (AP) — Rescues at sea and arrivals of flimsy boats from Africa on Spain’s Canary Islands, where local authorities are already struggling to cope with the pandemic, have strained emergency services and left hundreds of migrants stuck for days in a makeshift harbor camp. Over 1,000...

Australian Cardinal George Pell arrives at Rome's international airport in Fiumicino, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Pell took a leave of absence from his job in 2017 to stand trial in his native Australia on historic child sexual abuse charges, for which he was ultimately acquitted. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Australian law enforcement examine Vatican money trail

Oct. 21, 2020 7:50 AM EDT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A range of Australian law enforcement and corruption agencies are examining a reported transfer of money from the Vatican that Italian media have speculated might be linked to the overturned convictions of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse. The national financial crime...

Military personnel enter the Sudima Hotel in Christchurch, New Zealand, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. A number of fishing crew who flew into New Zealand on chartered planes have the coronavirus. The crew members have been in quarantine at the Christchurch hotel since they arrived, and tested positive during routine testing, officials said. The news could deal a blow to New Zealand’s efforts to restart its fishing industry, which has struggled to find local workers to crew fishing vessels. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

The Latest: Imported workers test positive in New Zealand

Oct. 20, 2020 10:27 PM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Eighteen fishing crewmen who last week flew to New Zealand from Moscow have tested positive for the coronavirus, underscoring the difficulty New Zealand faces in trying to import needed workers while remaining virtually virus free. A total of 235 crew from Russia and Ukraine were...

Pope Francis lights a candle for peace during an inter-religious ceremony for peace in the square outside Rome's City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Masked pope, faith leaders pray for peace and pandemic's end

Oct. 20, 2020 2:12 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — A masked Pope Francis welcomed religious leaders to a socially-distanced interfaith peace prayer Tuesday, appealing for a unified international effort to work for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu leaders stood for a minute of...

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