Gay Kirk minister Reverend Scott Rennie said he was looking forward to returning to "some kind of normal life" as he was inducted into his new church.

A telegenic Miami priest who left the Catholic Church amid an uproar over published photos of him kissing his girlfriend on the beach made the relationship official Tuesday, marrying the woman he was involved with for about two years.

President Barack Obama is heading to the Middle East this week to deliver a long-awaited speech to the Muslim world that he hopes will open a new chapter in relations.

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.

Web surfers can now send virtual postcards of Pope Benedict XVI to their Facebook friends or follow the pontiff's travel on their iPhones.

Most Rev Vincent Nichols is installed as the 11th Archbishop of Westminster.

A fiercely debated, long-delayed investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades.

Pope Benedict XVI left Israel on Friday, ending an eight-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The 82-year-old was met by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres at the airport, where he delivered a speech reiterating his call for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

The religious holiday of Lag Ba'Omer is being celebrated in Israel's northern town of Meron, where Orthodox Jews are celebrating with song and dance around the customary bonfire.

Pope Benedict XVI has called for peace in the Middle East.