RELIGION

Al Qaeda's second-in-command told Muslims not to be fooled by U.S. President Barack Obama's policies which, he said on an Islamist website on Monday, are no different to those of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The new head of Hong Kong's Catholic Church Thursday pledged to defend human rights and urged China to allow greater religious freedom in his influential new role as a bridging figure for Sino-Vatican ties.

Pope Benedict reflected on the tragedies and disasters that test faith during a Good Friday procession in Rome, just hours after Italians buried victims of the country's devastating earthquake.

Followers of Mexico's Saint Death cult figure, revered by thieves and drug runners but also law-abiding housewives, say their faith is being persecuted by the government's war against drug cartels.

A Yemeni court sentenced an Islamist to death and handed down jail sentences against two others on Monday after convicting them of seeking to work for Israeli intelligence services.

Pope Benedict arrived in Africa on Tuesday, where he said the continent's people were suffering disproportionately due to the global challenges of food shortages, financial crises and climate change.

The Vatican is launching a Chinese version of its website in an effort to bring more of Pope Benedict's message to China, whose communist government does not allow Catholics to recognize his authority.

President Barack Obama's lifting of restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research puts him at odds with Pope Benedict and the American Roman Catholic Church.

Western governments have overstated the role the Internet plays in the recruitment of militants, and measures to block extremist material are crude, expensive and counterproductive, a report said on Tuesday.

The Vatican said on Friday that an apology by a traditionalist bishop who denied the Holocaust fell short of meeting the Holy See's demand for a full and public recanting of his position.

Pope Benedict named the 59-year-old archbishop of Milwaukee as the next archbishop of New York, the highest profile post in the U.S. Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Monday.

Culture and heritage are what sets Hong Kong apart from the rest of Asia – indeed the world. With 150 years of colonial history and a largely Chinese population, Hong Kong is a unique fusion of Western and Eastern cultures where the old and the new live side by side. Its incense-filled temples, colonial buildings and glass-and-steel skyscrapers, along with its ancient traditions and lively festiv...

On Friday, Pope Benedict XVI marked 43rdWorld Communications Day by launching the Vatican YouTube channel with a theme New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship.

Many stars including Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise have sent their condolences to John Travolta and Kelly Preston.

John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston have denied reports that Jett was autistic. Autism is not recognized by the Church of Scientology, of which Preston and Travolta are both prominent members.

Ten of the nation's top-rated juniors were announced Saturday as the first selections to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

By Adrian AshThe religious essence of Christ's crown that it was of thorns, not of gold turns out to have been an illusi

By Adrian AshThe religious essence of Christ's crown that it was of thorns, not of gold turns out to have been an illusi

A man who impersonated a member of a royal Moroccan family on the Internet site Facebook was beaten unconscious and sentenced to 3 years in jail.

The Vatican on Wednesday condemned the film The Golden Compass, which some have called anti-Christian, saying it promotes a cold and hopeless world without God.

The holiday box office season kicked off this week to a slower pace than last year - both in the U.S and internationally - putting hopes on Mirimax's controversial The Golden Compass film to rescue the winter.