They came, they took an oath of secrecy, and they agreed to send a message to the previous pope, whose resignation has thrown the church into turmoil and unleashed a new wave of...

Women in the Balkans are leading a political revolution.   Historically given little say in the politics of the conservative region, they are increasingly taking top leadership posts,...

European finance ministers are gathering to discuss a long-delayed bailout for Cyprus amid demands from creditor nations that the island nation commit to privatizations and greater transparency in its...

A community spokesman says a baby delivered after his parents were killed in a New York City hit-and-run accident has died.   Isaac Abraham says the child died Monday morning. Abraham serves...

Faithful attending Sunday Mass on five continents for the first time since Pope Benedict XVI's retirement had different ideas about who should next lead the Roman Catholic Church, with people...

While the world focuses on the gathering of cardinals in Rome to choose a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, a similar conclave is underway in Tokyo to choose the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) next...

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was hospitalized Sunday over an apparent stomach infection that has ailed her for days, a rare instance of ill health sidelining the long-reigning monarch. Elizabeth...

Lech Walesa, the Polish democracy icon and Nobel peace prize winner, has sparked outrage in Poland by saying that gays have no right to a prominent role in politics and that as a minority they need to...

Iran and Syria condemned a U.S. plan to assist rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad on Saturday and signaled the Syrian leader intends to stay in power at least until 2014 presidential...

Shirley MacLaine will be returning to "Downton Abbey" next season, and opera star Kiri Te Kanawa is joining the cast.   MacLaine will reprise her role as Martha Levinson, Lord...