Roman Catholicism

Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who was named in January as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. by Pope Francis, speaks during a news conference Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cardinal McElroy calls for compassion in immigration policy as he prepares to lead in Washington

Cardinal Robert McElroy, the bishop of San Diego who is preparing to take over as archbishop of Washington, D.C. next month, has called for a compassionate approach toward refugees and immigrants who are in the United States illegally.

Newly appointed Cardinal Charles Maung Bo prays during a religious service at St. Paul's Missionary school in suburbs of Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)

Leading Myanmar opposition organization blames local resistance group for killing of Catholic priest

Sitting against a backdrop depicting St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, Archbishop of Trujillo Hector Miguel Cabrejos, left, along with Pope Francis, listen to welcome message at the St. Carlos and Marcelo College in Trujillo, Peru, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Pope Francis accepts the resignation of a Peruvian bishop accused of ignoring abuse

Pope Francis presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope rebukes Trump administration over immigrant deportations and appears to aim directly at Vance

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond speaks during an interview at the archdiocese office in New Orleans, March 27, 2019. (David Grunfeld/The Advocate via AP, File)

New Orleans Catholic Church denies ousting food bank leaders for failing to finance abuse payouts

Latest Videos

Catholic Mass in Buenos Aires honours Pope Francis after his death

Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires for a Mass following Pope Francis’s death at the age o88 on Monday. (AP video by Victor Caivano)

Watch More

Worshippers join procession honoring the Virgin of Solitude as part of Holy Week events in Guatemala

Filipino Catholic faithful join Easter Sunday rites in Quezon City

Vance meets with the Vatican’s Parolin amid tensions over the US crackdown on migrants, AP explains

More News

The faithful attend a 'Via Crucis' (Way of the Cross) at the St. Gabriele dell'Addolorata sanctuary in Isola del Gran Sasso near Teramo in central Italy Friday, July 29, 2023. In Italy, centuries-old churches dot the landscape, sanctuaries and processions draw crowds, and nearly 80% of the population profess themselves Catholic. But to the majority, it's an affiliation in name and tradition, with little adherence to doctrine or practice. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Somber, joyful, magical: Some of the most compelling AP religion photos of 2023

FILE - A representative of Dignity USA, a group of LGBTQ+ Catholics, wears pins on the lanyard of his pilgrim credential, outside the Sao Vicente de Paulo Parish Social Center, after Pope Francis visited it, in the Serafina neighbourhood of Lisbon, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)

Step by step, Francis has made the Catholic Church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ people

FILE - Same-sex couples take part in a public blessing ceremony in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on Sept. 20, 2023. Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document released Monday Dec. 18, 2023 explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

EXPLAINER: How can Catholic priests bless same-sex unions?

FILE - Newly couples of weds meet with Pope Francis during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on Oct. 11, 2023. Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document released Monday Dec. 18, 2023 explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples that must not resemble marriage

Pope Francis blows a candle on a cake as he celebrates his birthday with children assisted by the Santa Marta dispensary during an audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Pope Francis turnes 87 on Dec.17. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis’ 87th birthday closes out a big year of efforts to reform the church, cement his legacy

A green scarf with a message that reads in Spanish: “To decide is sacred, just and necessary” adorns an altar to the Virgin Mary, in the office of the Catholics for the Right to Decide, in Mexico City, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. Members of the organization denounce the invisibility of women in some religious environments and advocate for the reinterpretation of sacred texts with a feminist perspective. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Catholic activists in Mexico help women reconcile their faith with abortion rights

The Washington County Sheriff's office investigates the scene of a fatal stabbing on a Catholic priest in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Church, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Fort Calhoun, Neb. The Rev. Stephen Gutgsell died at an Nebraska hospital, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Omaha. Police say a person is in custody. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

As few details are released, fatal stabbing of Catholic priest rocks small Nebraska community

The Washington County Sheriff's office investigates the scene of a fatal stabbing on a Catholic priest in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Church, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Fort Calhoun, Neb. The Rev. Stephen Gutgsell died at an Nebraska hospital, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Omaha. Police say a person is in custody. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Iowa man arrested in the death of a Nebraska priest

FILE - Michael Voris, founder of Church Militant, speaks during a rally outside of the Baltimore hotel where the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are holding its Fall General Assembly meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Baltimore. Voris, of a far-right, unofficial Catholic media group, has resigned for an unspecified violation of the organization's morality clause, the group said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Founder of far-right Catholic site resigns over breach of its morality clause, group says

From left, Jacqueline Miller and Mary Rappaport, both from Alexandria, Va.; June Vendetti, from Bridgeport, Conn., and Suzanne Allen, from Westport, Conn., stand together for a photo in Baltimore on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. They traveled to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops support Bishop Joseph Strickland after his ouster. “We’re in a spiritual battle. When the pope asked Bishop Strickland to resign, it was a wound to the whole church,” Allen said. Rappaport said, “this pope is trying to change the church in dangerous ways.” (AP Photo/Tiffany Stanley)

Ousted Texas bishop rallies outside US bishops meeting as his peers reinforce Catholic voter values

The nation’s Catholic bishops gather for their annual fall meeting in at the Marriott Waterfront hotel in Baltimore on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. On Tuesday, the Catholic leaders called for peace in a war-torn world and unity amid strife within their own clerical ranks. (AP Photo/Tiffany Stanley)

US Catholic bishops meet; leaders call for unity and peace amid internal strife and global conflict

Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Vatican steps closer to allowing transgender people to be baptized as Catholics

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on the occasion of All Saints day, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope presses theologians to be in tune with challenges of daily life and talk with non-believers

FILE - A poster featuring Bishop Rolando Alvarez and Pope Francis hangs inside the Cathedral in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Aug. 19, 2022. Nicaragua has released and sent 12 Roman Catholic priests jailed on a variety of charges to Rome following an agreement reached with the Vatican, the Nicaraguan government said in a statement late Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Bishop Álvarez was not among the names of the priests released. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon, File)

Nicaragua releases 12 Catholic priests and sends them to Rome, following agreement with the Vatican

The Wolf Conservation Center is a non-profit environmental education organization dedicated to the preservation of wolves and their habitats through education, advocacy, and species recovery.

Women’s voices being heard at Vatican’s big meeting on church’s future, nun says

Rome's Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, left, talks to Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin during the international conference "New documents from the Pontificate of Pope Pius XII and their Meaning for Jewish-Christian Relations: A Dialogue Between Historians and Theologians", at the Gregorian University in Rome, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Vatican defends wartime Pope Pius XII as conference honors Israeli victims of Hamas incursion

The faithful attend a 'Via Crucis' (Way of the Cross) at the St. Gabriele dell'Addolorata sanctuary in Isola del Gran Sasso near Teramo in central Italy Friday, July 29, 2023. In Italy, centuries-old churches dot the landscape, sanctuaries and processions draw crowds, and nearly 80% of the population profess themselves Catholic. But to the majority, it's an affiliation in name and tradition, with little adherence to doctrine or practice. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Nearly 80% of Italians say they are Catholic. But few regularly go to church

A group of Brazilian tourists hold hands standing in a circle at the heart of a stone labyrinth in the Pueblo Encanto spiritual theme park in Capilla del Monte, Argentina, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. In the pope’s homeland of Argentina, Catholics have been renouncing the faith and joining the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated. Commonly known as the “nones,” they describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, spiritual but not religious, or simply: “nothing in particular.” (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

In the pope’s homeland, more Argentines are seeking spiritual answers beyond the church

The Rev. Francesco Di Feliciantonio poses for portraits in a room of the St. Gabriele dell'Addolorata sanctuary in Isola del Gran Sasso near Teramo in central Italy, filled with votive offerings, from baby bibs to sports jerseys, left by two million annual visitors to St. Gabriele, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

From cradle to casket, life for Italians changes as Catholic faith loses relevance

Pope Francis presides over mass to open the Synod of Bishops in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Oct.4, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis opens a big Vatican meeting on the church’s future and says ‘everyone’ is welcome

FILE - Pope Francis, sitting in front of a replica of the icon 'Maria Salus populi romani'', addresses the participants into "Together", a vigil prayer for the Synod of Bishops with church leaders in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, three days ahead of the official opening of the XVI Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on 4 October. Pope Francis is convening a global gathering of bishops and laypeople to discuss the future of the Catholic Church, including some hot-button issues that have previously been considered off the table for discussion. Key agenda items include women's role in the church, welcoming LGBTQ+ Catholics and how bishops exercise authority. For the first time, women and laypeople can vote on specific proposals alongside bishops. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

Things to know about the Vatican’s big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church

New Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, poses for a photo at the end of the consistory where Pope Francis elevated 21 new cardinals in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Clergy abuse survivors propose new ‘zero tolerance’ law following outcry over Vatican appointment

Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference Communication Officer Sheila Pires poses for a portrait at The Vatican, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Pires has been invited to take part in the next synod of bishops starting Oct. 4. “I think the church has just come to a point of realization that the church belongs to all of us, to all the baptized,” she says. Of the 365 voting members, only 54 are women and organizers insist the aim is to reach a consensus, not tally votes like a parliament. But the voting reform is nevertheless significant, tangible evidence of Francis’ vision of the Catholic Church as being more about its flock than its shepherds. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Women’s voices and votes loom large as pope is set to open a Vatican meeting on church’s future

Newly elected Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, right, receives his biretta from Pope Francis as he is elevated in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Pope Francis creates 21 new cardinals who will help him to reform the church and cement his legacy

FILE - Archbishop Timothy Broglio conducts an Easter Sunday Mass in an empty sanctuary at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Sunday, April 12, 2020. For the October 2023 synod at the Vatican, the U.S. delegation consists of members widely viewed as ideological rivals. There are six clerics appointed by Pope Francis who support his aspirations for a more inclusive, welcoming church. And there are five clerics chosen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, including its president, Broglio, who reflect a more conservative outlook. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Ideological rifts among U.S. bishops are in the spotlight ahead of momentous Vatican meeting

Same-sex couples take part in a public blessing ceremony in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. Several Catholic priests held a ceremony blessing same-sex and also re-married couples outside Cologne Cathedral in a protest against the city's conservative archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Catholic priests bless same-sex couples in defiance of a German archbishop

Helmut Kramer poses for a portrait in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, July 27, 2023. Kramer, 53, said he was sexually abused at age 12 in a Jesuit school in Antofagasta, a city in northern Chile. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

In Chile, justice eludes victims of Catholic clergy sex abuse years after the crisis exploded

Pairs of oxen pull a boat-shaped float with an iconic century-old sacred image of Virgin Mary breastfeeding infant Jesus standing on the bow, during the Our Lady of Remedies procession in the small town of Lamego, in the Douro River Valley, Portugal, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. One of Portugal's largest and oldest religious festivals, the two-week celebrations that culminate with the procession, draw thousands. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Ox-pulled floats with sacred images of Mary draw thousands to Portugal’s wine-country procession

FILE - Faithful attend the Sunday Mass in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, Sunday, 31 May 2020. A sweeping year-long study of sex abuse by priests and others within the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland published Tuesday has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, involving 510 people accused of misconduct and over 900 victims affected. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP, File)

Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century

Swiss Bishop Joseph Bonnemain is pictured during a press conference in Chur, Switzerland, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. The Vatican has ordered an investigation into high-ranking Catholic clerics in Switzerland in connection with sexual abuse, the Swiss Bishops' Conference said on Sunday. According to the bishops' conference, the Vatican received a letter with the allegations in May and subsequently appointed Swiss Bishop Joseph Bonnemain to head a preliminary investigation in June. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

Vatican orders investigation into Catholic clerics linked to abuse, Swiss Bishops’ Conference says