Vatican excommunicates a former ambassador to the US and declares him guilty of schism

ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Friday excommunicated its former ambassador to Washington after finding him guilty of schism, an inevitable outcome for Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. The conservative had became one of Pope Francis ' most ardent critics and a symbol of the polarized Catholic Church in...

How Texas is still investigating migrant aid groups on the border after a judge's scathing order

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Texas is widening investigations into aid organizations along the U.S.-Mexico border over claims that nonprofits are helping migrants illegally enter the country, taking some groups to court and making demands that a judge called harassment after the state tried shuttering...

Pope to preside over interfaith meeting in Indonesian mosque during longest, most challenging trip

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis will preside over an interfaith meeting in a mosque in the world’s largest predominantly Muslim country during a four-nation Asian visit in September that will be the longest and most complicated foreign trip of his pontificate. The Vatican on Friday...

Vatican excommunicates former ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, finds him guilty of schism

Vatican chief of staff testifies in UK finance trial, admits to false invoice and blames a deputy

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ chief of staff became one of the highest-ranking Holy See officials to testify in a foreign court Thursday, telling a British tribunal about the negotiations at the heart of the Vatican’s so-called “trial of the century,” admitting he filed a false invoice and...

Israel approves plans for nearly 5,300 new homes in West Bank settlements

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli government has approved plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a monitoring group said Thursday, the latest in a campaign to accelerate settlement expansion, aimed at cementing Israeli control over the territory and preventing...

Israel weighs Hamas' latest response to Gaza cease-fire proposal as diplomatic efforts are revived

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel's Cabinet was set to convene Thursday to discuss Hamas' latest response to a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire in Gaza, as diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the nine-month war stirred back to life after a weekslong hiatus. Fighting,...

Man tells jury he found body but had no role in fatal attack on Detroit synagogue leader

DETROIT (AP) — A man charged with killing a Detroit synagogue leader during a violent overnight encounter denied any role Wednesday, telling jurors that he never entered her home but had discovered and touched her bloody body outdoors. Michael Jackson-Bolanos repeatedly said...

Severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to the deadly stampede at an Indian festival

HATHRAS, India (AP) — Severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to a stampede at a religious festival that killed at least 121 people in northern India, authorities said Wednesday, as the faithful surged toward the preacher and chaos ensued among the quarter of a million attendees. ...

Renowned Nazi hunter in France advises Jews to choose far right over far left in elections

PARIS (AP) — Days ahead of France's crucial parliamentary elections, renowned Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld is sticking to his advice that if voters are faced with a duel between Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and a far-left competitor, they should choose the far right. ...