(RNS) In the 50 years since the Second Vatican Council, much has been accomplished in building a new relationship between Catholics and Jews. What Pope John XXIII began in 1962 represented the beginning of the end of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism within the Catholic Church. By A. James Rudin. 

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI's former butler started serving his jail sentence in the Vatican after being convicted in the Vatileaks affair. By Alessandro Speciale.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Just two weeks since Mormon officials lowered the age for missionaries, the Utah-based faith has seen applications skyrocket by 471 percent. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A traditionalist Catholic breakaway group expelled Bishop Richard Williamson, who in 2009 sparked a major crisis in Jewish-Catholic relations for denying the Holocaust shortly before Pope Benedict XVI readmitted him to the church. By Alessandro Speciale.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict's former butler could serve time in a Vatican jail, unless the pope pardons him in the next few days, according to the full text of his conviction sentence in the Vatileaks trial. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) Former Sen. George McGovern was a friend to anyone concerned about the issue of hunger and malnutrition in the world, always making hunger a top concern, even when the political winds did not favor that fight as a topical concern. By John McCullough.

(RNS) The Diocese of South Carolina announced on Wednesday (Oct. 17) that it has disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church, escalating a long-running skirmish and setting the stage to become the fifth diocese to secede from the national church. By Daniel Burke. 

(RNS) Dinesh D’Souza resigned as president of The King’s College Thursday (Oct. 18) amidst a scandal involving the married intellectual’s relationship with a woman who is not his wife.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) An American prelate who played a key role in trying to bridge the gap between Rome and U.S. nuns was transferred to Indianapolis only two years after taking up his Vatican post. By Alessandro Speciale.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) From horse-drawn carriages to electric cars, a new permanent exhibition at the Vatican Museums chronicles the history of papal transport, including the car Pope John Paul II was riding in when he was shot in 1981. By Alessandro Speciale.

NEW YORK (RNS) A year ago, the Rev. Frank Pavone was facing an existential crisis. Confined to a convent in Texas, the longtime anti-abortion activist was fighting accusations of financial mismanagement. Now Pavone is back with a new mission: defeating Barack Obama and making Priests for Life answerable only to Rome. By David Gibson.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI joined a small remnant of living "council fathers" to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, a watershed event that dramatically altered the life and outlook of the Catholic Church. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) In a massive display of solemn ecclesiastical pomp, hundreds of Catholic leaders strode into St. Peter’s Basilica 50 years ago, the start of an historic three-year assembly that would change the way the world’s largest Christian body viewed itself and the rest of the world. By John Pope.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (RNS) Lots of rock stars expect cushy perks at the venues where they perform: special food and drink, music, video games and even a puppy to play fetch. For the Dalai Lama, it’s all about the chair. By Emily Kulkus.

LONDON (RNS) As Britain waits for Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a new archbishop of Canterbury, there's renewed attention on her title of "Defender of the Faith." By Trevor Grundy.