The Archdiocese of Seattle announced Tuesday that it has settled 30 claims of sexual abuse by members of the Christian Brothers at two institutions managed by the order in Western Washington. The settlement totaled $12.1 million MORE

A federal appeals court ruled that states must allow gay couples to marry, finding the Constitution protects same-sex relationships and putting a remarkable legal winning streak across the country one step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. MORE

Back in March, we reported to you how Anglican priest Tony Palmer, a member of the Roman Catholic Ecumenical Delegation for Christian Unity and Reconciliation, gave a rousing call to Kenneth Copeland’s church to “return to Mother Rome”. He was met with a hero’s welcome by a very enthusiastic congregation. And just in case you thought that it was a “one off” meeting, you would be sadly mistaken. MORE

The Emir of Qatar has reportedly agreed to roll out €2.2 billion ($2.99 bn) to convert Barcelona’s Monumental bullring into a 40,000-capacity mosque, the biggest in Europe, by 2020, if the city council approves the project.  MORE  VIDEO MORE

…the Vatican has also hired the consulting firm of McKinsey & Company.  The consulting firm was engaged to “study the Holy See’s communications, with an eye to creating a more effective media operation.”  The goal was that this hire, along with that of Burke the year before, would reverse the declining view of the Church caused, in part, by public relations miscues. MORE

Pope Francis can best be described as a man on a mission. That mission seems to be the unification of the Vatican’s Roman Catholic system with Islam. This demonic hybrid is what is more commonly known as Chrislam. Francis is building on the already impressive body of work in this field started by apostate Emergent Church preacher Rick Warren. MORE

Alexandra Huerta, 22, was playing the game with her brother Sergio, 23, and 18-year-old cousin Fernando Cuevas at a house in the village of San Juan Tlacotenco in south-west Mexico.

But minutes into it, she apparently started ‘growling’ and thrashing around in a ‘trance-like’ state. MORE

“This ought to be the epitaph of this administration: In the last five years under this president more babies have been aborted than jobs have been created,” Bauer said on Friday at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in Washington, D.C.

“Now that is a good summary of this president,” said Bauer, who is president of the nonprofit American Values. “Few things make Barack Obama more passionate than abortion on demand.” MORE

What if I told you that I believe it’s OK to physically abuse your household pets?

Hold on. Don’t jump on my case about it. I’m saying it’s acceptable to torture and torment pets — but only pets. And only your own pets. You certainly can’t go around drop kicking, headbutting, or piledriving your neighbor’s dog, but your dog is a different story. MORE

A bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin will be closed indefinitely starting Monday because of high water, officials said Sunday, as authorities around the state braced for flooding from bulging streams and rivers. MORE

Once upon a time, California and Arizona went to war over water.

The year was 1934, and Arizona was convinced that the construction of Parker Dam on the lower Colorado River was merely a plot to enable California to steal its water rights. Its governor, Benjamin Moeur, dispatched a squad of National Guardsmen up the river to secure the eastern bank from the decks of the ferryboat Julia B. — derisively dubbed “Arizona’s navy” by a Times war correspondent assigned to cover the skirmish. After the federal government imposed a truce, the guardsmen returned home as “conquering heroes.” MORE

North Korea’s rivers, streams and reservoirs are running dry in a prolonged drought, state media said on Monday, prompting the isolated country to mobilize some of its million-strong army to try to protect precious crops.

The drought is the worst in North Korea for over a decade, state media reports have said, with some areas experiencing low rainfall levels since 1961. MORE

It will soon become a crime in Florida to kill or injure a fetus at any stage of development.

Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a bill (HB 59) into law that was a response to the case of a Tampa-area woman who was tricked into taking an abortion pill. MORE