West Virginia advances mandate to display ‘In God We Trust’ in schools

Republican Sen. Mike Azinger, who introduced the bill, says he wants to give students something to look up to and to tell them it's okay to “say God” in school. The bill requires that the phrase appears in an area in each school building.

Pope Francis says homosexuality is a ‘sin,’ but ‘not a crime’

Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust” and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.

Church of England refuses to preside over same-sex marriages

"Blessings" from the Church of England for same-sex marriage are allowed, but same-sex couples are still not allowed to marry in its churches.

Arguments slated in case involving pre-game prayer at Florida Christian school

A federal appeals court will hear arguments in May in a long-running dispute about whether a Tampa Christian school should have been allowed to offer a prayer over a stadium loudspeaker before a 2015 high-school football championship game.

Public can visit Pope Benedict XVI's tomb

The public can now visit the tomb of Pope Benedict XVI in the grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica.

Tens of thousands view Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's body at Vatican

Vatican security officials estimated that by mid-afternoon Monday, some 40,000 people had filed by the retired pontiff's body.

Health of retired Pope Benedict XVI 'worsening,' Vatican says

Earlier Wednesday, Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for Benedict and went to visit his predecessor in the monastery on Vatican grounds.

Pope Francis orders return of Parthenon Sculpture fragments to Greece

The Vatican on Friday termed the gesture a “donation” from the pope to His Beatitude Ieronymos II, the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece.

Pope laments 'icy winds of war' in Christmas address

"Indeed, we must acknowledge with sorrow that, even as the Prince of Peace is given to us, the icy winds of war continue to buffet humanity," Pope Francis said.

As Hanukkah begins, President Biden and others condemn rising antisemitism

The Anti-Defamation League tracked 2,717 antisemitic instances of assault, harassment and vandalism last year, the highest number since it tracking them in 1979.

Man pleads guilty to hate crime, arson charges for setting fire to Missouri Islamic center

The 44-year-old man poured contents from containers in the foyer and hallway and then lit a fire, which destroyed the center. About a dozen people escaped the building, and no one was injured.

Mormon church shows support for same-sex marriage law, believes act is still unbiblical

The nearly 17-million-member, Utah-based faith said in a statement that church doctrine would continue to consider same-sex relationships to be against God's commandments.