PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors on Monday accused the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of being an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a clergy sex abuse case and said the Roman Catholic Church fed predators a steady supply of children. The comments came in a key hearing before the March trial of a high-ranking church official, a priest and a former priest. Monsignor William Lynn, 61, is charged with conspiring with priests and church officials to keep priests accused of sex abuse in ministry and... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors are calling the Archdiocese of Philadelphia an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a clergy sex abuse case — and say the Catholic Church fed predators a steady supply of children. The comment comes in a key pretrial hearing Monday before the March trial of a high-ranking church official, a priest and an ex-priest. Monsignor William Lynn is charged with conspiring with priests and church officials to keep accused priests in ministry and parishioners in the dark. To prove... Read more

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has ordered 161 foreigners to leave the country for propagating Islam in violation of their visa status. Immigration controller Chulananda Perera says they are members of Tabligh Jamat, a group founded in India to spread the teachings of Islam. He said Monday they arrived in Sri Lanka as tourists but were found to be propagating Islam in several parts of the country. Perera said they include citizens of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives and... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — After decades of dreaming of power, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood finally comes face to face with the question of how to use it, as a new parliament that it dominates opens Monday. The fundamentalist group has eased off talk of Islamic-style legislation, saying it will focus on fixing Egypt’s ailing economy, and it has even backed off introducing further explicit Islamic references in the new constitution it will have a major hand in writing. But it has other... Read more

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — The emir of Kano has led a prayer service asking for God to help end attacks by a radical Islamist sect across Nigeria’s north. The ceremony by the senior Muslim religious official was held Monday in the city of Kano, where more than 150 were killed in a series of coordinated attacks Friday by Boko Haram. The emir spoke only for one minute in a voice so soft those gathered inside the half-emptied mosque could barely... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinians’ top Muslim cleric is facing harsh Israeli criticism for quoting a religious text that includes passages about killing Jews. Mufti Mohammed Hussein said his remarks at a rally for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement last week were taken out of context and that he didn’t incite people to kill Jews. The comments from the rally were posted to YouTube by an Israeli watchdog group tracking incitement. In the video, the mufti cited a hadith,... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — The United States and other Western governments must accept the new reality that Islamists have emerged to fill the power vacuum in the Arab world after a wave of popular uprisings, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report Sunday. The New York-based group also urged Islamist parties, which have emerged as the biggest winners in recent elections in Tunisia and Egypt and are expected to fare well in Libya, to respect the rights of women and... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world exposed biases by Western governments that supported Arab autocratic rulers for the sake of “stability” while turning a blind eye to their repressive policies, Human Rights Watch said Sunday. The New-York based group urged democratic governments to adopt persistent and consistent support for peaceful protesters and to press both autocratic rulers and newly emerging democracies to avoid intolerance and seeking revenge. “The events of the past year show that the forced... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world exposed biases by Western governments that supported Arab autocratic rulers for the sake of “stability” while turning a blind eye to their repressive policies, Human Rights Watch said Sunday. The New-York based group urged democratic governments to adopt persistent and consistent support for peaceful protesters and to press both autocratic rulers and newly emerging democracies to avoid intolerance and seeking revenge. “The events of the past year show that the forced... Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — To say Newt Gingrich capped an extraordinary comeback with a South Carolina victory doesn’t quite capture what happened. It was more like vindication. The former House speaker came from behind to overtake Mitt Romney on Saturday in a state that for decades has chosen the eventual Republican nominee. On the way there, Gingrich triumphed over months of campaign turmoil and at least two political near-death experiences as well as millions of dollars of attack advertisements and... Read more