Catholic leaders in Texas on Thursday identified 286 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children, a number that represents one of the largest collections of names to be released since a shocking Pennsylvania report last August detailed seven decades of child sexual abuse by more than 300 predator priests and the Illinois attorney general reported last month that at least 500 Catholic clergy in that state had sexually abused children. In the months after that report, about 50 dioceses and religious provinces have released the names of nearly 1,250 priests and others accused of abuse.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Saturday that a Republican-dominated legislative panel exceeded its authority when it tried to overturn the Democratic governor's executive order banning religious and funeral services of more than 10 people during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision letting Gov. Laura Kelly's order stand came after the justices heard oral arguments one day before Easter, which is typically the busiest day on the Christian calendar in terms of church attendance.

Hundreds gathered Monday for an interfaith service dedicating a prayer wall outside historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood on the centennial of the first day of one of the deadliest racist massacres in the nation.