Tribal members settle abuse cases against Mormon church

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Four Native Americans who claimed they were sexually abused while enrolled in a now-defunct Mormon church foster program decades ago filed paperwork to dismiss their cases after reaching financial settlements, a lawyer said. Allegations have been made against the church by more than...

Ex-health minister tapped to lead Austrian opposition

BERLIN (AP) — Austria's main opposition party is set to make a former health minister its new leader after ex-Chancellor Christian Kern announced his departure. The Austria Press Agency reported that Kern said Saturday that the center-left Social Democrats' top leadership unanimously endorsed Pamela...

Vatican, China make breakthrough deal on bishop appointments

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican and China said Saturday they had signed a "provisional agreement" over the appointment of bishops, a breakthrough on an issue that stymied diplomatic relations for decades and aggravated a split among Chinese Catholics. The deal resolved one of the major sticking points in...

The Latest: Pope quips "I am the devil" next to John Paul

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — The Latest on Pope Francis' visit to the Baltic countries (all times local): 6:35 p.m. Pope Francis has acknowledged that his reputation pales a bit compared to St. John Paul II — at least as far as Poles are concerned. Greeting journalists Saturday en route to Lithuania,...

Young Kentucky minister reflects on first 5 years as pastor

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Looking back, the Rev. Cortez R. Miller imagined he would become a pastor at the age of 30, but last Sunday, the 30-year-old celebrated his fifth pastoral anniversary at Moore's Baptist Church. "It all happened so fast," said the husband and father of three. "I guess it's like when...

Pope battered by abuse scandal gets warm welcome in Baltics

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Tens of thousands of Lithuanians lined the narrow streets of the Old Town of Vilnius and cheered Saturday as Pope Francis' popemobile passed by, an exuberant greeting that must have been welcome to a pope battered by new revelations in the Catholic Church's long-running sex abuse...

Vatican announces deal with China on bishop appointments, says it hopes for greater bilateral collaboration

Fugitive New Mexico priest pleads not guilty to sex abuse

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A fugitive priest who fled the U.S. decades ago amid allegations of child sex abuse has been returned to New Mexico to face charges after being arrested in Morocco last year, federal officials said Friday. Arthur J. Perrault, 80, a former Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Santa...

China treats Uighur kids as 'orphans' after parents seized

ISTANBUL (AP) — Every morning, Meripet wakes up to her nightmare: The Chinese government has turned four of her children into orphans, even though she and their father are alive. Meripet and her husband left the kids with their grandmother at home in China when they went to nurse Meripet's sick father in...

Rural Texas town council approves Muslim cemetery plan

DALLAS (AP) — Leaders of a rural Texas town have approved design plans for a Muslim cemetery three years after the project was met with derision and claims that it was a precursor to a mosque or an extremist training center. The City Council in Farmersville on Thursday OK'd the cemetery plans submitted by...