VATICAN CITY, July 7 (UPI) -- Contributions to the Roman Catholic Church have almost doubled under Pope Benedict XVI and the number of pilgrims in Rome has reached record levels.

VATICAN CITY, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Theological advisers to Pope Benedict XVI have disposed of the Roman Catholic doctrine of limbo started in the Middle Ages by St. Thomas Aquinas.

VATICAN CITY, April 21 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI has reappointed senior Vatican officials to their posts in a signal that he sees his papacy as a continuation of his predecessor's.

BUENOS AIRES, April 19 (UPI) -- Argentine religious leaders praised the appointment of Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope, La Nacion reported in its Tuesday online edition.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department has officially welcomed the Tuesday election of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the Roman Catholic Church's new pope.

VATICAN CITY, April 9 (UPI) -- Vatican leaders are taking steps to quell speculation about who will succeed Pope John Paul II as head of the 1.1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY, April 8 (UPI) -- As the pope's funeral concluded in St. Peter's Square Friday, hundreds of voices chanted for the pope to be declared a saint.