US Catholic delegation in Cuba to meet with local church leaders, discuss hurricane aid

October 7th, 2009 Irish Catholic bishops meet child-abuse victimsDUBLIN — Ireland's senior Roman Catholic bishops on Wednesday met leading campaigners for thousands of children assaulted, terrorized or molested while in church care — but didn't address the victims' key demand for the church to admit its responsibility for overseeing decades of abuse. Representatives from four victims groups spent three hours talking with the bishops inside Maynooth, the Republic of Ireland's only remaining seminary, and pledged to meet again in coming months.

September 19th, 2009 Pope: Bishops to discuss Middle East next yearVATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special meeting of bishops next year to discuss Middle East peace efforts and the role of the Catholic Church in the region. Addressing bishops and patriarchs from Eastern rite churches, Benedict said Saturday that the meeting will take place Oct.

September 15th, 2009 Cuba OKs organized religious services in prisonsHAVANA — Cuba will allow inmates to attend Roman Catholic Mass and Protestant services inside prisons, a top religious leader said Tuesday, in a significant easing of the communist government's policy toward organized religion. Authorities from the religious affairs wing of the Cuban Communist Party agreed to authorize organized worship behind bars after a meeting with prison officials and the Protestant Cuban Church Council last week, said Jose Aurelio Paz, a council spokesman who attended the gathering.

September 7th, 2009 Berlusconi: Relations with church excellentROME — Silvio Berlusconi says relations between his government and the Catholic Church, which have been strained by a sex scandal involving the Italian premier, remain excellent. Berlusconi said Monday that contacts with the church are kept up "almost daily" by his top aide.

August 26th, 2009 Prosecutor to talk with clergy about slain pastorANADARKO, Okla. — An Oklahoma district attorney is to meet with pastors in a town where a preacher was brutally killed inside her own church.

August 24th, 2009 NM Gov. Richardson heads to Cuba for trade missionSANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov.

August 19th, 2009 North Korean officials to meet with NM governorSANTA FE, N.M. — Two North Korean diplomats are in Santa Fe and will meet with Gov.

August 18th, 2009 US church leaders urge Obama to end Cuba embargoHAVANA — A delegation of U.S. Roman Catholic Church leaders urged Barack Obama's administration Tuesday to seize what they called a rare political opportunity to lift the 47-year-old economic embargo against Cuba's communist government.

August 17th, 2009 Catholic sisters under Vatican review want answersSILVER SPRING, Md. — A group representing Roman Catholic sisters in the United States is raising concerns about why the Vatican is investigating them and who is funding the inquiry.

July 14th, 2009 US, Cuba resume migration talks after 6-year pauseWASHINGTON — The United States and Cuba are renewing negotiations on the U.S.-Cuba Migration accords. The State Department said department official Craig Kelly headed the U.S.

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.

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 4th, 2009 Catholic orders meet Irish gov't over victim aidDUBLIN — Leaders of 18 Roman Catholic religious orders responsible for the abuse of thousands of Irish children in their care met government leaders Thursday to discuss what more they can contribute to the victims. The negotiations with Prime Minister Brian Cowen and other senior Cabinet ministers come two weeks after the publication of an investigation into six decades of beatings, molestation and humiliation in church-run institutions for castaway children.

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.

March 21st, 2009 HAVANA - Cuba and the European Union (EU) have decided to boost cooperation in health, education and scientific research. Businessmen from Cuba and EU countries participated in a meeting held here Thursday to discuss the issues.