Safety concerns after deadly fire rips through Egypt church

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt was in mourning Monday over a blaze at a Coptic Orthodox church that killed 41 people, but many also raised questions about the emergency response, fire safety codes, and restrictions on building houses of worship for the country’s Christian minority. ...

Egypt’s Coptic Church, citing health officials, says fire at Cairo church kills at least 41 people

Pope meets Russia envoy; decrees Ukraine-based priest martyr

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis met Friday with a top official of the Russian Orthodox Church ahead of an expected meeting next month in Kazakhstan with the Russian Orthodox leader, Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. The audience was the first between Francis and the...

Pope to Kazakhstan Sept. 13-15, may meet Russia patriarch

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis will travel next month to Kazakhstan, where he could meet with Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has justified Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Francis, 85, will attend an interfaith conference in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan,...

Greek Church protests baptism for celebrity same-sex parents

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's Orthodox Church says it will send a letter of protest to the archbishop who heads the church in the United States after he baptized the children of celebrity fashion designer Peter Dundas and his partner, Evangelo Bousis. Archbishop Elpidophoros of...

UK sanctions Russian Orthodox head; decries forced adoption

LONDON (AP) — Britain announced a new round of sanctions Thursday against Russia, targeting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for his prominent support for the war in Ukraine as well as Russia's children's rights commissioner, who Britain said is responsible for the forced transfer and...

Chargers owner accused by sister of fiduciary mismanagement

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers controlling owner Dean Spanos has been accused of repeated breaches of fiduciary duty and misogynistic behavior in a lawsuit filed by his sister. The filing escalates the ongoing battle among the four Spanos siblings over control of the...

Russian Orthodox head escapes EU sanctions thanks to Orban

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thanks to the insistence of Hungary, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church has been removed from the latest round of European Union sanctions to punish Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, four EU diplomats told The Associated Press. The sixth package of sanctions,...

Pope may meet Patriarch Kirill at September Kazakh meeting

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis will travel to Kazakhstan in September for an interfaith conference, a meeting that may give him a chance to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The meeting with Patriarch Kirill would be significant...

Live updates | Communist deputy demands Russian withdrawal

Breaking with the party line in a rare show of opposition to his country’s war in Ukraine, a Communist Party legislative deputy in Russia’s Far East demanded an end to the military operation and withdrawal of Russian forces. “We understand that if our country doesn’t stop the...