37 senators ask Vietnam’s president to free dissident Roman Catholic priest

October 9th, 2009 Obama expresses admiration for Father DamienWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is expressing his admiration for Father Damien, a Hawaiian priest set to become a saint on Sunday when he is canonized in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI. Obama was born and partly raised in Hawaii.

September 9th, 2009 Uruguay clears way for gay adoptionsMONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Uruguay is clearing the way for homosexual couples to adopt children. The Senate's final approval Wednesday makes Uruguay the first country in Latin America to allow gay and lesbian couples the opportunity to adopt.

August 31st, 2009 Vietnam grants amnesty to over 5,000 prisonersHANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam will release more than 5,000 prisoners as part of an annual prison amnesty, but not a Catholic priest whom U.S. senators have campaigned to have freed, an official said Monday.

August 23rd, 2009 Conn. priest convicted of $1M theft dies in prisonBRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport says a Connecticut priest who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1 million from a Darien parish to support a lavish lifestyle has died.

August 20th, 2009 Body of SKorea's Kim moved into place for funeralSEOUL, South Korea — The body of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has been transported to the National Assembly, where it will lie in state until his funeral Sunday. Kim died Tuesday at age 85, unleashing an outpouring of grief for a man who campaigned for democracy at home and won the Nobel Peace Prize for a historic summit with rival North Korea.

August 8th, 2009 LONDON —British police have charged a former California priest with sexually abusing young boys when he served in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1983. LONDON —A former California priest extradited from the U.S.

August 4th, 2009 Conn. whistle-blow priest says bishop scolded himNEW HAVEN, Conn. — A former Connecticut priest claims a bishop who played a leading national role in responding to the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal threatened to send him to live with nuns after he hired a private investigator to look into his pastor.

July 15th, 2009 Police: Man impersonates priest, visits officerPHILADELPHIA — A 26-year-old Philadelphia man suspected of impersonating a priest while visiting a wounded police officer was arrested on Monday. The man was charged with criminal trespass and false impersonating.

July 13th, 2009 Spanish priest killed in Cuba, 2nd in 5 monthsHAVANA — A second Spanish priest in five months has been found dead near the capital, Cuba's Roman Catholic Church said Monday. The Rev. Mariano Arroyo Merino's body was discovered Monday morning in his room at the parish he served in the coastal neighborhood of Regla, situated on Havana Bay across from the capital, the Havana Archbishop's office said in a news release.

July 5th, 2009 More Vermont diocese properties face liensBURLINGTON, Vt. — A judge has put liens on four church-owned rest homes and part of the Vermont Roman Catholic diocese's investments in order to cover jury awards in two priest sex abuse cases.

June 27th, 2009 Miami priest weds girlfriend in church ceremonyMIAMI — A Miami priest who left the Catholic Church after photos surfaced of him kissing his girlfriend on the beach has married her at an Episcopal church. The ceremony for 40-year-old Alberto Cutie (KOO'-tee-ay) and 35-year-old Ruhama Canellis was held Friday evening at St.

June 10th, 2009 Ex-priest accused of abuse to be extradited to UKLOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles judge has ruled that a former Catholic priest suspected of abusing altar boys in the United Kingdom can be extradited to face trial there. James Robinson is accused of abusing four boys in the 1970s and '80s before and after he served as a priest in three parishes in Coventry and Birmingham, England.

May 31st, 2009 Fla.'s 'Father Oprah': Church is about forgivenessBISCAYNE PARK, Fla. — A popular Miami priest nicknamed "Father Oprah" said Sunday that "church is about forgiveness" during his first sermon since leaving the Roman Catholic Church after photographs surfaced of him kissing his girlfriend on the beach.

May 31st, 2009 Fla. priest who left Catholic Church preps sermonMIAMI — A popular Miami priest nicknamed "Father Oprah" said Sunday that "church is about forgiveness" during his first sermon since leaving the Roman Catholic Church after photographs surfaced of him kissing his girlfriend on the beach. The Rev. Alberto Cutie (pronounced KOO'-tee-ay) gave the sermon at the Episcopal Church of The Resurrection in Miami.

May 13th, 2009 Catholic diocese in NM will review priests' filesALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup is reviewing the files of all its priests, saying it wants a more thorough evaluation under the church's national policy on preventing abuse and responding to molestation claims.