Faith Wire

Shiite Muslims in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi demanded government protection Monday from a wave of violence that has targeted the minority sect, a day after a massive bombing in the city... Read more »

Faithful attending Sunday Mass on five continents for the first time since Pope Benedict XVI's retirement had different ideas about who should next lead the Roman Catholic Church, with people... Read more »

Clerics across Kenya gave sermons dedicated to peace on Sunday, the day before a national election that some fear could spark the same kind of violence that engulfed the East African country after... Read more »

The Vatican took the first steps of governing a Catholic Church without a pope on Friday, making some ceremonial and practical moves to formalize the end of one pontificate and prepare for the... Read more »

Benedict XVI left the Catholic Church in unprecedented limbo Thursday as he became the first pope in 600 years to resign, capping a tearful day of farewells that included an extraordinary pledge of... Read more »

Benedict XVI greeted the faithful for the last time as pope on Thursday, telling tearful well-wishers that he is beginning the final stage of his life as "simply a pilgrim," hours before he becomes... Read more »

Benedict XVI has left the Vatican for the last time as pope, flying by helicopter to the Vatican's vacation retreat hours before becoming the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI promised his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his successor in his final words to cardinals Thursday, a poignant and powerful farewell delivered hours before he becomes... Read more »

A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Thursday sentenced a leader of an Islamic political party to death for crimes during the nation's 1971 war for independence, a politically charged decision that... Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI bid an emotional farewell Wednesday to his flock on the eve of his retirement, recalling in his final speech as pontiff moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times... Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts... Read more »

In a season of startling change for the Catholic Church, the latest break with tradition was as unexpected as it was a wake-up call to the 115 men who will elect the next pope. Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI has changed the rules of the conclave that will elect his successor, allowing cardinals to move up the start date if all of them arrive in Rome before the usual 15-day transition... Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI bestowed his final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square, explaining that his waning years and energy made him better suited to the life of... Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI has reshaped the papacy simply by giving it up. But how? Read more »

The radical Islamic fighters showed up at Mohamed Salia's Quranic school, armed with weapons and demanding to address his students. Read more »

If evidence was ever needed that the next pope must urgently overhaul the powerful Vatican bureaucracy called the Curia, the scandal over Pope Benedict XVI's private papers is Exhibit A. Read more »

Popular pressure is mounting in the U.S. and Italy to keep California Cardinal Roger Mahony away from the conclave to elect the next pope because of his role shielding sexually abusive priests, a... Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI blessed the faithful from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square for the first time since announcing his resignation, cheered by an emotional crowd of tens of thousands of... Read more »

It's a ritual as rich in tradition and symbolism as the Catholic Church can muster: secret oaths, hypnotic Gregorian chants, scarlet-decked cardinals filing through the Sistine Chapel — all... Read more »

Conventional wisdom holds that no one from the United States could be elected pope, that the superpower has more than enough worldly influence without an American in the seat of St. Peter. Read more »

The Vatican raised the possibility Saturday that the conclave to elect the next pope might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date possible under current rules that require a 15 to 20 day... Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI hit his head during his March 2012 trip to Mexico, The Vatican said Thursday, but denied the accident had any "relevant" role in his resignation. Read more »

Looking tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI told the thousands who gathered for his weekly audience that he was resigning for "the good of the church" — an extraordinary scene that unfolded... Read more »