Tom Gjelten

Twenty years ago, the brutal killing of a young gay man in Laramie, Wyo., drew national attention and led to an expansion of a federal hate-crimes law.

Matthew Shepard will be laid to rest today at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., 20 years after he was murdered near Laramie, Wyo.

Two months ago, a Pennsylvania grand jury detailed how Wuerl learned of credible abuse allegations against priests under his supervision — and still gave the men new parish assignments.

Schools in Lumberton, N.C., and others in flood-affected areas of the state have been closed for nearly 5 weeks due to damage from Hurricane Florence. The staff is frustrated, parents are impatient.

Some North Carolina residents still need food assistance a month after Hurricane Florence hit. Among those helping is a group of volunteers from Puerto Rico who received help during Hurricane Maria.

As a new storm is heading toward North Carolina, as the effects from Hurricane Florence are still being felt. Businesses that survived the initial hit are closing, and residents who found emergency shelter now have to find permanent housing.

Six of 10 U.S. Catholics say Pope Francis is doing only a "fair" or even a "poor" job handling the clergy abuse crisis. He is now only as popular as his predecessor, Pope Benedict.

Some conservative Catholics are blaming clergy sex abuse on gay priests, citing "homosexual networks" in the church. The argument reflects wider cultural and political conflict in Catholic circles.

Pope Francis is set to meet with a group of U.S. cardinals and bishops Thursday in Rome, to discuss the roiling clergy sex abuse scandal and the role some bishops played in its cover-up.

The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, will meet in Rome with Pope Francis and other church leaders to discuss further investigations into abuse.

Critics say Catholic law favors secrecy over transparency and discourages bishops from punishing abusive priests. Increasingly, civil authorities are taking on these investigations.

The failure of church authorities to police their own clergy has led lay Catholics and civil authorities to move on their own. After Pennsylvania, other state attorneys general have launched investigations.

A panel of lay advisers to U.S. Catholic bishops sees a "systemic problem" in the church that can only be addressed independently of Catholic authorities.

The uproar over clergy sex abuse has turned into a fight over Pope Francis. Some conservative critics say the pope ignored warnings about an archbishop's misconduct and tolerated "homosexual networks" in the church leadership.

The Catholic Church argues that much of the child sexual abuse to be revealed last week happened before reforms of the early 2000s. But victim advocates question whether that's a proper conclusion.

Years after an investigation in Boston highlighted the dimensions of the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic priesthood, the financial and reputational cost to the Catholic church continues to grow.

Clergy abuse settlements have cost billions of dollars and more than a dozen dioceses have gone bankrupt. Both church attendance and giving are also in jeopardy.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a response to the clergy sex abuse report from Pennsylvania. It calls for further investigation, better reporting and resolution to complaints.

History, legal issues and doctrine all contribute to the continuing failure of Catholic authorities to recognize and respond more effectively to sexual abuse scandals.

More than a decade and a half after the clergy sex abuse scandal erupted in the Boston Archdiocese, the Roman Catholic Church continues to have a problem stopping and preventing abuse.