LONDON (AP) — The Catholic Church in England is stepping up its campaign against government plans to legalize same-sex marriage. In a letter being read in 2,500 parish churches across the country during Sunday Mass, the church’s senior archbishops argue that the change would reduce the significance of marriage. It says Catholics have a duty to make sure “the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations.” Britain’s government plans to allow everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation,... Read more

JOS, Nigeria (AP) — A suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church Sunday in the middle of Mass, killing at least 10 people in the latest violence targeting a church in a central Nigerian city plagued by unrest, a state official said. The bomb detonated as worshippers attended the final Mass of the day at St. Finbar’s Catholic Church in Jos, a city where thousands have died in the last decade in religious and ethnic violence. Security at the gate... Read more

JOS, Nigeria (AP) — A car laden with explosives detonated outside of a Catholic church Sunday in a restive city in central Nigeria, killing at least four people and injuring others, a foundation spokesman said. The blast happened Sunday morning outside of St. Sinba’s Catholic Church in the city of Jos. Four people were killed said Mark Lipdo, an organizer for a Christian organization in Jos known as the Stefanos Foundation. The bomber was apparently stopped before his car entered... Read more

JOS, Nigera (AP) — Emergency officials say an explosion has struck a Catholic church in a central Nigeria town where thousands have died in recent years in ethnic violence. Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria’s national emergency management agency said the blast struck the St. Sinba Catholic Church in Jos on Sunday. He had no further details. Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba confirmed an explosion had taken place but said officials had no immediate information about injuries. Jos and surrounding... Read more

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — A car laden with explosives detonated outside of a Catholic church Sunday in a restive city in central Nigeria, killing at least three people and injuring others, a rescue official said. The blast happened Sunday morning outside of St. Sinba’s Catholic Church in the city of Jos. The bomber was apparently stopped before his car entered the church’s compound, a rescue official said. It was unclear whether the church service was going on at the time... Read more

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum on Sunday nudged rival Newt Gingrich to step aside, arguing a head-to-head contest between himself and Mitt Romney should “occur sooner rather than later.” A defiant Gingrich predicted victories in Tuesday’s primaries in Alabama and Mississippi and called Romney the weakest GOP front-runner in nearly a century. Santorum and Gingrich were campaigning hard two days before what has become a potentially decisive Southern showdown for the Republican contenders battling to challenge... Read more

RAWANAK, Afghanistan (AP) — The only warning was the strong wind that howled through the village of Daspai. One minute Nazar Khuda’s sister was at her sewing machine. The next minute she was dead. She was one of at least 50 people killed when an avalanche of snow, ice and mud thundered off a nearby mountain and buried the village in a disaster-prone area of northeastern Afghanistan where Mother Nature is a bigger enemy than the Taliban. “We dug down... Read more

ROME (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has presided over a ceremony in a Rome church with the Archbishop of Canterbury, saying he hopes their presence together will spur both Catholics and Anglicans to pray and work for unity. Benedict led a vespers service Saturday evening at which both he and Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the world’s Anglican Communion, gave homilies. The two held private talks at the Vatican earlier Saturday, but no details were released. While the pope... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s latest worldwide statistics find that the percentage of Europe’s Catholics has dipped while rising in Africa and southeast Asia. The Vatican on Saturday presented some of the findings in its annual statistic report. It said that Catholics in 2010 — the latest year statistics are available — numbered just under 1.196 billion, compared to 1.181 billion in 2009. The number of priests rose in Asia and in Africa, while dipping in Europe, a trend... Read more

CHICAGO (AP) — The tip was a surprise when it arrived on the desk of Ted Wasky. Had it not come, the former FBI agent fears five Muslim men in Ohio might have pulled off a plot to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The source of the tip? A fellow group of Muslims. “They were talking about Jihad and wanting to defend their … brothers in the Middle East against American aggression,” Wasky said. “The community understood the freedoms they... Read more