The Roman Catholic bishop of Rhode Island said Sunday that he asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy in a 2007 letter to stop receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, because of the congressman’s public stance on moral issues.

The Vatican has confirmed that opening its door to married Anglican priests doesn’t mean the Roman Catholic church’s requirement for celibacy for clergy is changing.

The Vatican says talks with a group of breakaway traditionalist Catholics were held in a “cordial, respectful and constructive climate” and will continue over the coming months.

Pope Benedict XVI has created a new church structure for Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, responding to the disillusionment of some Anglicans over the ordination of women and the election of openly gay bishops.

A high-profile sex abuse case that was set to start Monday against Delaware’s Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and a former priest will be delayed after the church filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

Pope Benedict XVI placed Cardinal John Henry Newman, an influential 19th-century Anglican convert, on the path to possible sainthood Friday by approving a miracle attributed to his intercession.

A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland’s Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation.

A gunman opened fire at a remote Korean Christian retreat center last night, leaving one person dead and at least three people injured, authorities said.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan is a defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy.