After a judge sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings, religious leaders in that city found themselves on both sides of the issue. Lawmakers in Nebraska are considering a bill to ban the death penalty there, which would make it the first conservative state to do so in four decades. And Christian leaders such as Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice and religious broadcaster Pat Robertson have provided support for movements such as Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.

WASHINGTON - Reaction was mixed to the May 15 jury sentencing of death for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

NEW YORK - Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said Islamic State militants terrorizing the Middle East are a distortion of “genuine” Islam much as the Irish Republican Army was a “perversion” of Catholicism.

LAGOS, Nigeria - Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos condemned twin bombings that claimed more than 100 lives in his city, saying they were setbacks to peace efforts.

VATICAN CITY - The deadly bombing of a new church in northern Tanzania left at least two people dead and a dozen injured while the Vatican nuncio escaped unharmed after the attack.

BOSTON - I was in the foyer of the House of Commons when I learned of the Boston Marathon bombings. Knowing my brother Mike and his wife Sally had friends running, I immediately called his home. Sally said Mike had been shooting video of runners raising money for charity and had called her from near the finish line. “His voice was high. He said: ‘There’s been an explosion. I’m okay. I gotta go.’ ”

BOSTON - Even though "the culture of death looms large" today, the light of Christ the Good Shepherd "can expel the darkness and illuminate for us a path that leads to life, to a civilization of solidarity and love," said Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley.

WASHINGTON - Students at Boston colleges in particular felt the impact of the April 15 Boston Marathon explosions and after the tragedy just down the street from many of these campuses, they gathered to pray for victims, raise funds to support their recovery, and simply to talk and share their grief and disbelief.

Updated 04/18/13

BOSTON - The first name released of someone killed in the April 15 explosions at the Boston Marathon was that of eight-year-old Martin Richard, whose picture in newspapers showed him grinning broadly, apparently at his first Communion.

Updated 04/18/13

BOSTON - Within hours of two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon April 15, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley sent a message of prayer and support for those injured, their loved ones and those who experienced the trauma of the tragedy.