VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope has accepted the early resignation of a Los Angeles bishop who recently acknowledged being the father of two teenagers. Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, resigned Wednesday under the code of canon law that lets bishops step down earlier than the normal retirment age of 75 if they’re sick or for some other reason that makes them unfit for office. In a letter to the faithful, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said Zavala... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope has accepted the early resignation of a Los Angeles bishop and named another bishop to eventually take over in San Diego. Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, resigned under the code of canon law that lets bishops step down earlier than the normal retirment age of 75 if they’re sick or for some other reason that makes them unfit for office. The Vatican declined to provide details, saying the archdiocese would comment later... Read more

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Outspoken Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders called on the government Wednesday to apologize for the country’s “passive” response to the mass deportations of Jews by Nazi occupiers during World War II. The move is likely to re-ignite debate about Dutch attitudes to the wartime persecution of the country’s Jewish population. Of the 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands before the war, more than 100,000 were deported and murdered. About 30,000 Jews live here now, out... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — A law enforcement official says a man hurled firebombs at an Islamic cultural center in part because he wasn’t allowed to use its bathrooms and targeted four other New York-area sites on New Year’s Day over personal grievances. The official spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the case is still being investigated. The official says the man made anti-Muslim statements and could be charged with a hate crime in the... Read more

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An advocacy group for clergy abuse victims will fight a court order requiring it to disclose what could be years’ worth of emails and other records to attorneys for a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse, a group official said Tuesday. David Clohessy, the director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said last week’s order requiring it to turn over records to attorneys for the Rev. Michael Tierney is too broad, and... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — Lawmakers from Iraq’s largest Sunni-backed bloc stood by their boycott of parliament when the assembly reconvened Tuesday after a two-week break — another reminder of the deepening political crisis that has revived the country’s sectarian tensions. The Iraqiya bloc is also considering a pullout from the ruling coalition to protest an arrest warrant by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government for the country’s top Sunni politician, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi. Iraqiya lawmakers accuse al-Maliki of hoarding power... Read more

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s mainstream Anglican church says police have stopped a retreat of 80 clergy over claims that their prayer gathering was not given police clearance under sweeping security laws. The Anglican church has been split by a breakaway group led by a bishop close to Zimbabwe’s president who has seized church properties without police intervention. The bishop has been excommunicated by world Anglicans. The mainstream Diocese of Harare said in a statement that police loyal to the... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted Tuesday in the final round of elections likely to seal the domination by Islamists over the country’s new parliament as secular activists grew increasingly worried over the possibility of an alliance between the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling military. Activists point to what they call mounting signs of a confluence of interests between the Brotherhood, who are set to be the biggest bloc in the next parliament, and the ruling generals. The result, they... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Islamists looked to seal their domination of Egypt’s first democratically elected parliament as Egyptians voted Tuesday in the final round of multistage elections. The end of voting and the convening of parliament, due on Jan. 23, could set the stage for jostling for authority between the ruling military and lawmakers, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. The two sides must work out how to put together a 100-member panel to draft a new constitution. Leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood,... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians are voting in the third round of the country’s first parliamentary elections following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Some 14 million voters in nine of Egypt’s 27 provinces are to elect 150 members of parliament. The balloting is held on Tuesday and Wednesday but is unlikely to change the outcome of the elections. Islamist parties, including Egypt’s most influential group — the Muslim Brotherhood — are expected to consolidate their gains from the first two rounds... Read more