Latin America's first women priests challenge Church
Olga Lucia Alvarez says it is her vocation to be a Catholic priest, and she is not going to let gender or excommunication stop her from preaching the gospel.
A dying business: family graves in Japan
Every once in a while, Kumiko Kano meets a group of people with whom she has decided to spend eternity, one of a growing number in Japan who are shunning the expense and commitment of a traditional family grave.
Poland's Catholic Church apologises for paedophilia
Poland's powerful Catholic Church apologised for paedophilia committed by its priests during an unprecedented ceremony attended by top clergy and abuse victims.
John Paul II sainthood a delicate issue for Mexicans
Many Mexicans have mixed emotions about seeing the late pope John Paul II become a saint: they loved the man but feel he covered up sexual abuses by priests.
Dancing priest brings #2popesaints to Internet flock
A priest dances in a famous piazza in Rome surrounded by four gyrating parishioners. Tourists stare and dozens of children on a school trip from France start to twist and turn to the music.
UN chief decries death of Dutch priest in Syria
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the shooting death Monday of a well-known Dutch priest in Syria as an "inhumane act of violence."
Two Italian priests kidnapped in Cameroon
Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun have been kidnapped by gunmen in northern Cameroon, Italy's foreign ministry and media reports said on Saturday.
Vatican trove shows Catholic persecution in samurai-era Japan
A trove of ancient documents unearthed at the Vatican could shed light on the brutal crackdown on Christianity in isolationist Japan under its samurai rulers.
Armenian monastery finds unlikely saviour in Arab sheikh
Standing next to a newly refurbished bell tower, priest Aristakes Aivazyan says it needed divine intervention to save Armenia's medieval Haghartsin monastery.
Syria opposition 'deeply concerned' for Italian priest
Syria's main opposition group called Saturday for the immediate release of an Italian Jesuit priest who went to negotiate with jihadists and who is feared to have been taken prisoner.