As the Supreme Court gets set to review a number of cases that will determine the future of gay marriage in America, more than two dozen Episcopal bishops in California signed briefs opposing both Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.

"The Episcopal Church has always seen itself as existing in our culture, not outside or above or in opposition to our culture. For over a century, Episcopalians look to the model of Christ transforming culture, rather than, say, Christ against culture," explained the Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, in a statement to The Washington Post.

"On marriage equality, our church has traveled on pilgrimage with our culture. Sometimes we have led in advocacy for marriage equality, and sometimes we have learned from the culture and from leaders outside the church. We have developed rites for blessing and marriage for all, and we have extended the support of the church to LGBT people in the form of premarital counseling and the integration of same-sex couples into loving communities of faith," the bishop added. more >>

A new Gallup poll released on Monday revealed that young Hispanics appear to be abandoning the traditional Catholic faith of their parents and turning more often to Protestant alternatives.

"A majority of Hispanics in America continue to identify as Catholic, although the Catholic percentage among Hispanics appears to be decreasing and the youngest Hispanics in America today are less likely to be Catholic than those who are older," Gallup stated about the implications of the results.

"Additionally, those Hispanics who are Catholic are much less religious than those who are Protestant." more >>

The Roman Catholic Church is dealing with new controversy following the resignation of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the most senior Catholic cleric in Britain and leader of the Scottish Catholic Church, who allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior with other priests.

In his resignation letter, O'Brien revealed that he had presented Pope Benedict XVI with his resignation a number of months ago, and recently received news that the pontiff decided that O'Brien's service would come to an end on Monday.

"I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest," O'Brien, 74, who had been Scotland's top cleric since 1985, said in his letter. more >>

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York answered questions Wednesday in a legal deposition concerning sexual abuse cases filed while he was still in charge of the archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Dolan, who is also the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and considered the leading American candidate for the soon-to-be vacant papacy at the Vatican, served at the Milwaukee archdiocese from 2002 to 2009.

The 62-year-old cardinal was questioned on Wednesday for over three hours by a lawyer representing over 500 people who claim to have been abused by clergy in Milwaukee, Reuters reported. more >>

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York has backed President Barack Obama's push for gun control, saying that this is an area both leaders can agree on.

"I found myself nodding in agreement," Dolan, who is also president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said of Obama's recent State of the Union address.

"Overwhelming majorities of Americans – Americans who believe in the Second Amendment – have come together around common-sense reform, like background checks that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun," the cardinal wrote in a blog last week. more >>

The University of Missouri's release of a "Guide to Religions: Major Holidays and Suggested Accommodations" has created controversy over whether schools should take into account non-traditional holidays celebrated by groups such as Wiccans and Pagans when scheduling exams and other student activities.

Media outlets and personalities who have called out the college for putting Wiccan and Pagan holidays on par with Christmas, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are now being criticized by a group of Salem witches, according to NoBo Magazine, a local news publication for "North of Boston."

The coven of witches are upset over the comments made by Fox News guest Tucker Carlson last Sunday in which he said that Wiccans are a very small minority and shouldn't be included in the University of Missouri's policy that recently added Wiccans and Pagans to the guide's list. more >>