WASHINGTON – Atheists who oppose prayer and other religious elements in presidential inaugurations have lost a case in a federal appeals court. A three-judge panel on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that sought to stop Barack Obama from using the words “so help me God” when he took the oath of office last…

(RNS) Somewhere in the Vatican, there is a thick file with the Rev. James Selvaraj’s name on it. It’s been there since 2006. A native of southern India, Selvaraj was a guest priest in the Diocese of Trenton, N.J., when he was accused of endangering the welfare of a child in late 2005. Shortly thereafter,…

JERUSALEM – Moshe Hirsch, an anti-Zionist rabbi and close associate of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has died in Jerusalem, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group said Monday. He was 86. Hirsch was a leading figure in Neturei Karta, a tiny ultra-Orthodox sect that opposes Israel’s existence as a Jewish state and has embraced its enemies.…

HAVANA – The Vatican’s foreign minister is coming to Cuba next month to lead discussions on the island’s economic challenges and the effects of emigration and the families torn apart by it. Roman Catholic Archbishop Dominique Mamberti will mark Catholic Social Week June 12-20 by leading discussions among church leaders from around the island, as…

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