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COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington agreed Friday to set up a $120 million fund to compensate victims of child-molesting priests and other employees. It would be the nation's biggest settlement in the scandal that has staggered the church. The settlement in the class-action case is subject to court approval. The lawsuit - brought on behalf of more than 100 alleged victims - accuses the diocese of a 50-year cover-up of sexual abuse by priests and other workers. In a statement, the diocese and plaintiffs' attorneys said that $40 million of the settlement fund would come...

SPOKANE -- A federal judge will decide if a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee who has undergone a sex change suffered discrimination at the hands of co-workers. A six-day trial concluded yesterday. Tracy Nichole Sturchio, formerly known as Ronald Sturchio, sued the Department of Homeland Security. The non-jury trial was heard by U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley, who will rule in the near future. Sturchio, 56, told The Associated Press yesterday it was difficult to relive the torment of the past few years during the trial. "I had to sit on the stand and admit it tore me apart...

Conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt made a good observation in recent days. He said that "most of the American media is simply ignorant of the pope's critics on the right," namely those who reject the doctrinal developments and disciplinary reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly in regard to ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue and the vernacular Mass. I agree. The media often quotes Catholic liberals when covering events in the Church. Usually, it's done to show that some, or many, Catholics really don't agree with traditional Church teachings on abortion, contraception, euthanasia, homosexual activity and the male-only priesthood. The picture painted is...

Now that the mourning for John Paul II has ended and he has been laid to rest in St. Peter's, it is time to consider the state of the church he led for 27 years. For, despite his extraordinary life, his holiness and his critical role in bringing an end to communist rule in Eastern Europe, the condition of the church is grave. Two years ago, Kenneth C. Jones of St. Louis pulled together a slim book he titled "Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II." As that church council ended 40 years ago this year, what...

As a Catholic priest, I have an investment in issues that affect the Church and the people of God. And, as a Christian, I have an obligation to speak out. So let me make the following points as clearly as I can: 1) Most of the scandals and evils we see in the Church today are brought about primarily by homosexuality. Homosexuality is an objective moral disorder and unacceptable in the priesthood! For nearly two thousand years the teachings of the scripture, the magisterium, and Tradition—the three sources of revelation which give us truth—have all agreed: homosexuality as an “abomination”!...

A small popping noise, followed by intense burning and the release of a powerful, acrid gas had Rajiv Diwan convinced he'd been shot. Gasping for breath, he worried he also was having a heart attack. "Now I can laugh about it, but you know, I really thought I was definitely dying. I really thought that was it," said Diwan, who was accidentally given a dye pack along with his cash at a Lakewood, Pierce County, bank Wednesday. After the dye pack exploded in his pants, he had to convince police he hadn't just robbed the Bank of America branch where...

Alongside predictable exchanges on Iraq, the Middle East and religious liberty, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in her Feb. 8 visit to the Vatican also received an unexpected request -- to intervene in a U.S. lawsuit naming the Holy See as the defendant in a sex abuse case. Church sources told NCR that Rice was asked by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State, whether the United States government could stop a class-action lawsuit currently before a United States District Court in Louisville, Ky., that seeks to hold the Vatican financially responsible for the sexual abuse of minors....

OLYMPIA -- Two days after her inauguration, Gov. Christine Gregoire came home from a long day at her new job and decided to relax and order a pizza. But when she picked up the phone and dialed, she found out that when you're the governor, the tough questions never end. Before she ordered, the pizza girl wanted to know: "What's your telephone number?" "I don't know." "What's your address?" "I don't know that either." "Pardon me? What's your name?" "My name is Chris Gregoire -- that's C-H-R-I-S G-R-E-G-O-I-R-E." "And you don't know your address?" "It's the mansion." "What?" "You know,...

OLYMPIA — The state Supreme Court threw out a Washington's estate tax today, causing a potential loss of $430 million over the next two years at a time when lawmakers are already facing a $1.8 billion spending gap. The unanimous decision by the nine-member court concluded that "when an estate has no federal estate tax, there is no obligation to pay any state estate tax." It ordered a refund of estate taxes collected from the Department of Revenue since Jan. 1, 2002. The refund could be as high as $150 million, said Mike Gowrylow, a spokesman for the state agency....

But Republicans admit they still need a viable candidateRon Sims twice has strolled easily to election as King County executive, but Republicans think the energetic Democrat is so laden with political baggage this year that it shouldn't happen a third time. Maybe not, but first they have to find a credible candidate. Nine months before the November election, Washington's most powerful local government official is already running hard for a third term, raising campaign money, scooping up endorsements and trying to scare off potential opponents. And so far there's nobody to slow him down. Republicans say they're adamant about not...

OLYMPIA — Like jilted lovers with newfound hope, Democrats this year are pushing legislation that always died in past sessions. Familiar bills that would allow the purchase of drugs from Canada, provide equal insurance coverage for mental-health patients, let school levies pass with a simple majority and ban discrimination against gays are on the roll. It's all a sign of Democrats controlling the House, the governor's office and especially the Senate, which had been in Republican hands the past two years. Gov. Christine Gregoire has indicated support for many of the measures. "Everybody whose bill died for the last two...

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- As a court challenge was readied to her narrow victory, Gov. Christine Gregoire rolled out her first big policy initiative Wednesday - health care - and said she refuses to be distracted. Democrat Gregoire, surrounded herself by friendly Democratic legislators, labor leaders and others who helped her win office, said she's wading into the biggest, most complicated issue facing the 2005 Legislature. In her first news conference in her Capitol office suite since inauguration a week earlier, she said she hopes to win over skeptics by moving quickly to tackle daunting problems like health care, school financing,...

Gregoire sworn in as Washington governor By David Ammons The Associated Press OLYMPIA — Christine Gregoire, winner of the closest governor's race in Washington history, was inaugurated today, but faces an immediate court challenge that could make it a short-lived honor. "Change is here and more is coming," she said in her first official speech. Democrat Gregoire, 57, a scrappy three-term attorney general who took on the tobacco industry and polluters, took the oath of office before a joint session of the state Legislature. Minority Republicans had battled unsuccessfully to delay her inauguration for two weeks. Republicans in the House...

BELLEVUE -- The latest flare-up over Christmas trees in public places has longtime Bellevue chiropractor and resident Sidney Stock protesting the large tree standing in the lobby of City Hall. The tree is a symbol of Christianity, Stock and his wife, Jennifer, told City Council members this week. They said it is inappropriate to display symbols of any religion in a public place. Their objection follows a recent flap over Christmas trees at branch libraries in the King County Library System, which first banned trees then decided to allow them at the discretion of branch librarians. ``I think it's inappropriate,''...

According to two Mercer Island men, signs supporting President Bush are an endangered species. Within days of going up in the affluent neighborhood, the signs disappear...