VATICAN CITY (RNS) The 13 Cubans who occupied a church in Central Havana left after being assured they wouldn't be detained by police, and the incident shows the challenges that Pope Benedict XVI will find in Cuba this weekend. By Alessandro Speciale.

ST. LOUIS (RNS) Wading into tricky church-state territory, a judge has upheld an independent-minded Catholic church's ownership of its property and its right to craft bylaws that limit the authority of the Roman Catholic Church over its governance. By Tim Townsend.

CLEVELAND (RNS) Former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk died Saturday (March 17) in Germany, ending nearly 35 years of legal battles with officials in three countries who claimed he was a guard in a Nazi death camp. He was 91. By John Caniglia.

(RNS/ENInews) Thousands of Egyptians are mourning the death of Pope Shenouda III, the longtime leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, who died Saturday at the age of 88.

(RNS) The Obama administration is offering to expand the number of faith-based groups that can be exempt from the controversial contraception mandate, and proposing that third-party companies administer coverage for self-insured faith-based groups at no cost. By David Gibson.

TORONTO (RNS) Two political parties in Quebec are speaking out about the ritual slaughter of meat, saying the practice runs counter to the province's secular "values." By Ron Csillag.

(RNS) Evangelicals are turning out in record numbers in the GOP presidential primaries — a full 50 percent of GOP voters — and providing crucial support and momentum to the campaign of Rick Santorum. By David Gibson.

LONDON (RNS) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said Friday (March 16) he will step down at the end of 2012, setting the stage for the unique process of government officials appointing the new leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. By Al Webb and Kevin Eckstrom.

PEORIA, Ill. (RNS) When Max and Nancy Carson got married at St. Ann Catholic Church in 1974, the organ music was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of balls crashing into bowling pins from the basement. But now church bowling alleys are a dying breed, with fewer than 200 remaining in the U.S. By Judy Keen.

Rowan Williams (and his eyebrows) will retire at the end of 2012, Rick Santorum wants to banish porn and Jesus makes a cameo on `The Bachelor.'

(RNS) As members of the extended Schuller family leave the helm of the dwindling Crystal Cathedral, the sad fate of the congregation in the iconic glass-walled church offers a cautionary tale of family-run ministries. By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops have voiced doubts about the Obama administration's plans to modify a mandate that employers provide free birth control coverage, and they are vowing a new campaign to rally Americans to defend religious freedom. By David Gibson.

CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The British government has launched a 12-week consultation in England and Wales that is widely expected to lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage, despite strong opposition from Catholics and some Anglicans. By Trevor Grundy.

(RNS) A Catholic priest who was pulled from ministry after a furor over denying communion to a lesbian at her mother?s funeral insists he did the right thing, and criticized the Washington archdiocese for disciplining him. By David Gibson.