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Miami – A popular Miami priest and media personality known as “Father Oprah” has left the Catholic Church and joined the Episcopal Church after he was photographed cavorting on the beach with his girlfriend. The Rev. Alberto Cutie (KOO’-tee-ay) was removed from his Miami Beach church after photos of him kissing and embracing a woman…

Portland, Ore. – Judy Nikukar was in her 40s and had been a Muslim for 15 years before someone invited her to help wash a body before burial. Nikukar considered whether she wanted to do it. She had seen only two dead bodies before — she was 6 when her great-grandmother died; 18 when her…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) After 78 years of broadcasting the pope’s message around the world, Vatican Radio is to break with tradition and take paid commercials for the first time. The move to mix jingles and advertising with religious programming will help balance the books at the station, which employs 500 people, broadcasts in 47 languages…

DALLAS – A founding member of what was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States was sentenced to 65 years in prison Wednesday for funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Shukri Abu Baker, 50, of Garland, Texas, was the first of five members of the Holy Land Foundation for…

(UNDATED) Growing up in Wyoming to Catholic and Protestant parents, Isabelle Medina-Sandoval watched the women in her family practice strange customs — washing off babies’ baptismal water and setting aside some dough when they made tortillas. “As a teenager, I always had so many questions about spirituality, I always wanted to figure out the puzzle,”…

Publishing powerhouse Christianity Today International, citing hard times in its industry, is shutting down four publications and laying off 31 workers. According to a plan announced Friday (May 22), two magazines will fold: Today’s Christian Woman and the Campus Life College Guide, which targets Christian undergrads. CTI will also cease to publish Glimpses, a worship…

Miami — Florida International University Tuesday accepted a gift from the Dalai Lama to save its Religious Studies Department scheduled to close due to budget cuts. The Miami Herald reported the $100,000 gift alone will not rescue the department, the closure of which would save the university $600,000 per year. FIU’s total budget is $642…

Vatican City – In a sign the credit crunch is sparing no one, the Vatican is set to raise its staff retirement age by two years to help make ends meet. From January 1, 2010, newly hired lay staff will retire at 67 instead of 65, while newly hired members of religious orders and priests…

DUBLIN – Ireland’s Roman Catholic religious orders resisted growing demands Friday for them to pay more for the abuse of thousands of children behind the closed doors of state-funded schools. The Irish government expects to dole out more than euro1.1 billion ($1.6 billion) in legal costs and compensation to 14,000 people molested, beaten or terrorized…

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — On a peaceful afternoon in a suburban home garage, Demetrus Leslie, 17, jerked like he was dosed with strychnine. His arms lashed menacingly, then he dropped to the floor, only to rear up smoothly. His chest popped in and out, convulsing as if an alien larva heaved within. He ranged around the…
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