A Jerusalem court has acquitted a man accused of attacking a Catholic nun, citing an insanity defense, but orders psychiatric hospitalization for up to six years. The April attack in Jerusalem's Old City shocked Israel and its Christian communities. Clergy say verbal abuse and spitting have become more common in the area. The judge ruled the man was psychotic during the attack. Friar Olivier Poquillon expressed regret over the lack of a criminal penalty. Yisca Harani, tracking Christian harassment, notes a rise in incidents, often by Jewish religious nationalists. Israel's envoy to the Christian world promises practical solutions to address the issue.

ILION, Greece (AP) — For the careless and despairing alike, there’s a special day on the Orthodox Christian calendar to provide relief — with …

Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built over the very spots where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. In a nightly ceremony dating back centuries, a representative of the Muslim families from Jerusalem who hold the basilica's keys locks the door from the outside. At dawn, the doors are usually reopened with the same ceremony watched over by about a dozen resident clergy of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches who share the worship space in a unique arrangement. On a mid-August night, also locked inside the sprawling, dark basilica were a smattering of registered pilgrims, a few cats and an Associated Press journalist.

SAN MARINO (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday hailed the tiny Republic of San Marino as a model of political freedom and civic responsibility, pr…