LEXINGTON, Ky. – Backers of a print shop owner who declined to print gay pride T-shirts because of his religious beliefs praised a Kentucky court’s decision that his free speech rights protect him from a discrimination complaint.

A seminarian I know recently went to a party at a local university campus. The group was a crowd of young, college students and when he was introduced as a seminarian, as someone who was trying to become a priest and who had taken a vow of celibacy, the mention of celibacy evoked some giggles in the room, some banter and a number of jokes about how much he must be missing out on in life. Poor, naïve fellow! 

VATICAN CITY – Governments work best when they are secular, not confessional, but they must give ample space for people to express their religious beliefs, including by respecting the right of conscientious objection, Pope Francis told the French Catholic newspaper La Croix.

WASHINGTON - The displacement of people around the globe because of their religious beliefs in 2013 rose to levels unseen in years, the State Department reported.