NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has given a tiny evangelical Christian church the right to hold weekend services in a New York City grade school. An injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in the ongoing litigation also allows other churches to get permission to use other schools around the city. The judge found schools’ no-worship policy would cause “irreparable harm” to the Bronx Household of Faith. City lawyers had argued the church’s use of the... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — A chronology of some statements by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the New York City Police Department’s monitoring of Muslims, along with criticism of the program, which has been exposed in a series of reports by The Associated Press: —Aug. 25, 2011. Bloomberg: “In the end the NYPD’s first job is prevention, and I think they’ve done a very good job of that. … The law is pretty clear about what’s the requirement, and I... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — The Quran is the most sacred object in the daily lives of Muslims and burning copies of the holy book is considered an offense against God. It is so important in the faith that Islamic teaching and scholarly interpretations spell out how it should be handled, including directing anyone who touches it to be in a state of ritual purity as well as how to dispose of a faulty or damaged copy. Muslim scholars say it is... Read more

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez bid an emotional farewell laced with references to Jesus Christ and independence hero Simon Bolivar as he departed Venezuela on Friday for Cuba for urgent surgery to remove a tumor he says is probably malignant. Clasping the hand of his youngest daughter, Chavez addressed allies of his socialist political movement and troops standing at attention at the Miraflores presidential palace. “I say this from my gut: With cancer or without cancer … come... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia church official facing trial in the priest abuse scandal says he created a list of problem priests in 1994 — but Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua had it destroyed. Monsignor William Lynn says the Archdiocese of Philadelphia recently turned over a surviving copy that corroborates his claims. Lynn asked Friday to have his conspiracy and child endangerment case thrown out based on the new evidence. Jury selection is under way. Lynn is the first U.S. church official... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Roman Catholic church official facing trial in a priest child abuse scandal created a list of problem priests in 1994, but Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua had it destroyed, according to a defense memo filed Friday. Monsignor William Lynn, who’s accused of keeping predator priests in ministry and transferring them from parish to parish, wants his child endangerment case dismissed because of new evidence turned over by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including his list of 35 accused priests.... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Roman Catholic church official facing trial in a priest child abuse scandal created a list of problem priests in 1994, but Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua had it destroyed, according to a defense memo filed Friday. Monsignor William Lynn, who’s accused of keeping predator priests in ministry and transferring them from parish to parish, wants his child endangerment case dismissed because of new evidence turned over by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including his list of 35 accused priests.... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia church official facing trial in the priest abuse scandal says he created a list of problem priests in 1994 — but Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua (beh-vih-LAH’-kwah) had it destroyed. Monsignor William Lynn says the Archdiocese of Philadelphia recently turned over a surviving copy that corroborates his claims. Lynn asked Friday to have his conspiracy and child endangerment case thrown out based on the new evidence. Jury selection is under way. Lynn is the first U.S. church... Read more

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A retired Presbyterian minister who officiated at 16 same-sex weddings during the brief period they were legal in California has been censured by her denomination’s highest court. The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ruled in a 9-6 verdict issued Tuesday that the Rev. Jane Spahr of San Francisco deliberately violated church law when she conducted the marriage ceremonies in 2008. Spahr, 69, who was ordained two years before she came out... Read more

STERLING, Virginia (AP) — A senior Pentagon official is apologizing to Washington-area Muslims for the burning of Qurans at a military base in Afghanistan. Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs, says the military is investigating and that all troops are being retrained in the handling of religious materials. Lavoy’s remarks came Friday at a mosque in suburban Washington, D.C. They come after protests across Afghanistan over the burning of several Qurans at a... Read more