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French President Francois Hollande met Pope Francis on Wednesday to thank him for his solidarity with the French people after attacks by Islamist militants, including the killing of an elderly priest in July.

Pope Francis has set up a commission to study the role of women deacons in early Christianity, the Vatican said on Tuesday, raising hopes among equality campaigners that women could one day have a far greater say in the Roman Catholic Church.

Representatives of several U.S.-based religious denominations rooted in evangelizing and missionary work are choosing to defy the new "Yarovaya laws" laws in Russia that would ban them from proselytizing. The package of laws, billed as anti-terrorism measures, was passed by the Russian Duma, or parliament, on June 24 and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 7. Leading Russian human rights activists said authorities used an air disaster -- the October bombing of a Russian passenger jet -- as a pretext for an assault on basic freedoms, including religion.

In a move that has been hailed a "victory" for supporters of Biblical marriage, the Anglican Church of Canada has voted against authorizing same-sex unions after debating the issue for nearly three years.

A Malaysian man who wanted authorization to convert from Islam to Christianity 33 years ago was finally granted official permission from the country's High Court to change his religion.

On Monday, Pope Francis made the following request for forgiveness during closing Vespers at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Basilica of St. Paul: "As Bishop of Rome and pastor of the Catholic Church, I want to ask for mercy and forgiveness for the behavior of Catholics towards Christians of other Churches which has not reflected Gospel values."

Anglican Communion leaders, the global organizing body of Anglicans, are punishing the Episcopal Church by revoking certain privileges for at least three years, following years of heated debates with the American church about homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the role of women, per a Thursday announcement.

The Christian Post reports that after being convicted of misappropriating S$50 million in church funds, church founder Kong Hee is being accused of using the prosperity gospel to scam its members into making bigger donations to the church.

A federal judge on Monday approved a bankruptcy plan for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee that includes a $21 million settlement for 330 victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

The Mormon Church has deemed married same-sex couples to be apostates of the faith and their children ineligible for baptism in a reaffirmation of opposition to gay marriage months after endorsing fair housing and employment on the basis of sexual orientation.

Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the leak of sensitive Vatican documents as a deplorable crime but said it would not distract him from forging ahead with reforms at the Holy See.

Leah Remini has taken a lot of flak for revealing sensitive information about the Church of Scientology and the A-List stars who have been involved in it, especially Tom Cruise and ex-wife Katie Holmes, the Daily Mail reports.

Two new books by Italian journalists depict a Vatican plagued by mismanagement, greed, cronyism and corruption and where Pope Francis still faces stiff resistance from the old guard to his reform agenda.

Less than two weeks after pastor Kong Hee, founder of Singapore's City Harvest Church, was found guilty of misusing millions of church funds for his popstar wife's career, Hee's mentor, Phil Pringle, encouraged church members to draw near to God and find their comfort in Him despite overwhelming odds.

Pope Francis indicated on Sunday that his planned visit to the Central African Republic this month could be canceled if violence between Christians and Muslims there worsens.

Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina was inducted on Sunday as the first black leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church during a ceremony in the nation's capital where he called for economic and racial unity.

The Vatican said on Monday two members of a commission that Pope Francis set up to study Church reforms had been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to the media.

Singapore's City Harvest Church founding Pastor Kong Hee has issued an emotionally-charged statement thanking his congregation for standing by him over the past five years and giving his family "wings to ride on" in their "darkest moments".

Church attendance may be falling in Poland as elsewhere across Europe, but the victory of conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party in Sunday's election will likely advance the role of Roman Catholic values in public life and government.

Roman Catholic leaders from around the world on Monday made a joint appeal to a forthcoming United Nations conference on climate change to produce a "fair, legally binding and truly transformational" agreement.

The influential National Association of Evangelicals has softened its position on capital punishment, backing away from an earlier resolution which encouraged the death penalty for crimes such as hijacking and kidnapping.

The first "Greater Church of Lucifer" is preparing to open its doors in a Houston, Texas suburb, sparking controversy across the Bible Belt.

Roman Catholic bishops debating family issues at a three-week gathering remain deeply divided on key issues such as how to minister to homosexuals and divorced couples.

Pope Francis has canonized four new saints and urged church leaders to live humble, generous lives.

Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky, has said that Christians should not attend a same-sex wedding, even of their own child, because doing so demonstrates "moral approval" for such unions.