LOS ANGELES — In what could be the closing chapter in a landmark legal battle, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades in the largest settlement involving the Catholic Church.

Attorneys for 1,353 people who allege that they suffered horrific abuse at the hands of ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Somewhere between 900 and 1,000 people have filed claims in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case, alleging they were sexually abused as children by people in the Catholic Church’s employ, an attorney said in court.

Edwin Caldie, a lawyer for a committee of abuse survivors tasked with representing the interests of all...Read more

For many who grew up in predominantly Black church congregations, the importance of public involvement was intertwined with historical and theological teachings.

“Part of the importance to me about civic engagement was absolutely passed down as a young person,” said Valerie Cooper, associate professor of Black church studies at Duke ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A former Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has pleaded no contest to possession of child pornography and several related special allegations, authorities said.

Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara, 39, who was a member of the archdiocese at the time of the allegations, admitted to possessing over 600 images of child sexual...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Seventh-day Adventist Church is suing Maryland, arguing that its fair employment law prevents religious organizations from being able to hire — and fire — people based on their beliefs, bridging those groups’ constitutional right to religious independence.

The church said in its lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Police departments in the Los Angeles area are ramping up patrols around synagogues during Rosh Hashana this week — though authorities say they have not received any specific reports of threats or planned demonstrations.

The Beverly Hills Police Department has partnered with private security and increased patrols around ...Read more

Americans are split down the middle on their perceptions of the country’s religion, new research finds.

Fifty percent of Americans surveyed say they think the U.S. is a Christian nation and should be based on Christian values, according to a Sept. 24 analysis by Public Religion Research Institute fellows.

The research is based on a national ...Read more

A majority of U.S. adults say they believe the U.S. Constitution is inspired by God, but apart from a colloquial expression of the date, there is no mention of a higher being throughout the document.

That’s not the same for the nation’s state constitutions, where there’s at least one reference to God or the divine in each and nearly 200 ...Read more

Most U.S. Catholics disagree with the church’s stance on a number of issues, including the use of contraceptives, according to a new poll.

The latest Pew Research Center poll, released Thursday, finds that 83% of U.S. Catholics say the church should allow the use of birth control, while 15% say it should not.

The poll surveyed 2,021 U.S. ...Read more