As more than 130 voting cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to begin the secret process to elect the next head of the Holy See, a new poll finds that a plurality of U.S. Catholics want Pope Francis’ successor to continue his teachings.

The papal conclave includes the most electors ever — the bulk of them appointed by the late ...Read more

A new Washington state law requires Catholic priests and other religious community leaders of different faiths to report potential child abuse to state authorities.

But does the law signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2 raise constitutional issues?

The question is central to a new federal civil rights probe launched under President Donald Trump...Read more

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a 50-1 betting long shot to be elected pope in 2013, when the former Argentine cardinal beat the odds and took the name Pope Francis.

Bettors are banking on another long shot to succeed Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88.

While Italian cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle continue to...Read more

The new bishop of Camden said Monday that his diocese would no longer oppose a statewide investigation of sex abuse by clergy — a stunning reversal after the diocese had spent years arguing in sealed court documents that the probe proposed by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office should not be allowed to move forward.

In an interview, ...Read more

Should a blatantly sectarian educational institution qualify for public funding as a charter school? The Supreme Court wrestled with the question Wednesday. The answer must be no.

Charter schools are public schools; we’ve said this many times, as have fellow advocates for the innovative instructional models they deliver. They are free and ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York lawmakers are brokering a deal that would delay and weaken educational requirements for religious schools — a major setback for yeshiva reform advocates who believe all students should receive some secular instruction, The New York Daily News has learned.

The plan is to include the changes in the next state budget, which...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared poised Wednesday to rule that church-run schools have a right to operate as public-funded charters.

If so, the decision could transform K-12 education and public schooling nationwide.

Since the early 1990s, charter schools have taken hold in California and 46 other states as a...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared poised Wednesday to rule that church-run schools have a right to operate as public-funded charters.

If so, the decision could transform K-12 education and public schooling nationwide.

Since the early 1990s, charter schools have taken hold in 47 states as a popular public-...Read more

As the faithful across the globe mourned the life of Pope Francis last week, the focus now shifts to selecting the 267th pope to lead the nearly 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide.

That decision lies with the conclave, consisting of about 140 eligible cardinals who must convene 15 to 20 days after the death of a pope, according to Canon Law.

...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Another person once close to Justin Bieber has offered an explanation for ongoing concerns about the pop singer’s mental health and the state of his marriage, amid the 31-year-old’s public outbursts, vulnerable social media posts, questionable Coachella behavior and recent move to “torch” a lot of his longtime ...Read more

In 1805, New York made a deal. State officials granted taxpayer funds and a corporate charter to a private organization known as the Free School Society, which agreed in return to provide a free education to poor children in New York City. Over the next decades, the society became a precursor to modern-day charter school networks that are ...Read more

Nearly a thousand parishioners with ties to Ukraine gathered at a church in Hamtramck, Michigan, for services on Easter Sunday, celebrating the day Jesus rose from the dead while worrying about the war ravaging their home country.

The 9:30 a.m. Easter Mass at the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church, which was conducted entirely in ...Read more

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Pope Francis met at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, shortly before the pontiff delivered a sermon urging political leaders to support vulnerable populations.

The meeting, announced by Vance’s office, marked the first between a U.S. vice president and the pope since 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Multiple South Carolina churches are taking their parent denomination to the S.C. Supreme Court to try to get out from under its jurisdiction and keep their church holdings intact.

The lawsuit was filed this week by the Methodist Church of Simpsonville, with its pastor and chair of the church council named as individual ...Read more