CINCINNATI (AP) — A gay student who sued his public high school for prohibiting him from wearing a T-shirt designed to urge tolerance of gays will be allowed to wear the shirt for at least one day. The southwest Ohio school district agreed in a conference between attorneys and the judge to let 16-year-old Maverick Couch wear the shirt bearing the message “Jesus Is Not A Homophobe” on April 20, according to federal court records. But Couch’s lawsuit charging that... Read more

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria is facing a “high risk” of a terrorist attack over the Easter holiday, the United Kingdom warned its citizens Thursday, as the U.S. issued a similar warning to those living in the West African nation that sees near-daily attacks by a radical Islamist sect. The U.K. Foreign Office and the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria’s capital Abuja issued the updated travel warnings Thursday, noting that a radical Islamist sect in Nigeria known as Boko Haram carried... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More emotional testimony is expected at a clergy abuse trial under way in Philadelphia. A 30-year-old former Marine who says he was molested as a 14-year-old by the Rev. James Brennan in 1996 is expected back on the stand. After hours of blistering cross-examination by Brennan’s attorney, the man was getting upset and said he was exhausted. The judge decided to have him continue on Thursday. Brennan is on trial with Monsignor William Lynn, the first Roman... Read more

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — More needs to be done to allow worshippers free and unfettered access to religious sites on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, a U.N. expert said Thursday. Heiner Bielefeldt, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, said the situation has improved some after crossings linking the island’s minority Turkish-speaking north and its majority Greek-speaking south were opened nine years ago. This has allowed Muslim Turkish Cypriots to visit holy sites in the south,... Read more

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A U.N. expert says more needs to be done to allow worshippers free and unfettered access to religious sites on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus. Heiner Bielefeldt, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, said Thursday the situation has improved some after crossings linking the island’s Turkish-speaking north and its Greek-speaking south opened nine years ago. This has allowed Muslim Turkish Cypriots to visit holy sites in the south, and Orthodox Christian Greek... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI denounced priests who have questioned church teaching on celibacy and ordaining women, saying Thursday they were disobeying his authority to try to impose their own ideas on the church. Benedict made the rare and explicit criticism from the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in his homily on Holy Thursday, when priests recall the promises they made when ordained. In 2006, a group of Austrian priests launched the Pfarrer Initiative, or pastor initiative, a... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Austrian priest who founded a group of clergy who question church teaching on celibacy and women’s ordination has downplayed Pope Benedict XVI’s denunciation. The Rev. Hellmut Schueller said Benedict was merely asking for reflection on whether their disobedience can help reform the church. In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Schueller noted that Benedict didn’t forbid what the dissident priests were doing or advocating. In his Holy Thursday homily, Benedict said the dissidents of... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has issued a rare and explicit denunciation of priests who have questioned church teaching on celibacy and ordaining women, saying they were being selfish in disobeying his authority. Benedict made the criticism in his homily on Holy Thursday, when priests recall the promises made when they were ordained. In 2006, a group of Austrian priests launched the Pfaffer Initiative, a call to disobedience aimed at abolishing priestly celibacy and opening up the clergy... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — When Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat stares out at his city, the one-time venture capitalist sees fresh opportunity: He believes he can turn Jerusalem into one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, on par with New York, Paris and London. In a city known as much for its religious strife as its religious sites, this will be no simple task. But Barkat, sounding very much like the businessman he once was, says he has a product that’s easy... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister on Thursday warned that Egypt’s Sinai desert is becoming a “terror zone” and vowed to strike at militants there after a rocket fired from the area hit a southern Israeli resort town. The tough talk, however, was tempered by Israel’s desire not to disturb the already fraught relationship with Egypt. Israeli officials acknowledged their options are limited as the new government in Egypt — one of Israel’s few allies in the Arab world —... Read more