Pope Benedict XVI received an unprecedented presidential greeting from George W Bush and the first lady Laura Bush as he arrived for his maiden official visit to the United States.

"Matters of Faith" Airs April 28 at 7 p.m.

During his visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI will pray at Ground Zero, which has become the national civic shrine memorializing those who died in 2001 on 9/11.

More than eight of out of ten Catholics are satisfied with the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, according to a poll of Catholic adults in the United States. More than seven out of ten are equally satisfied with the leadership of the U.S. bishops, a14-point jump, from 58 to 72 percent, since 2004.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis of the Diocese of Charlotte will welcome Pope Benedict XVI in a video to be shown at the papal Mass in Washington, D.C.

According to reports, authorities in Belgium have seized documents, financial records and computer equipment form the local branch of the Church of Scientology (Church) and then sealed off the building.

The policemen in Texas have arrested more than 200 members of the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints, a breakaway group of the Mormon church. Adherents of the breakaway church practice polygamy, which is in violation of US law.

The Camden Diocese plans to slash its number of parishes from 124 to 66, Bishop Joseph Galante has announced. Under a restructuring program, the diocese will consist of 38 merged parishes, three "clusters" involving six parishes and 22 stand-alone parishes, Galante said at a press conference today.

San Joaquin Episcopalians greet bishop recommended for provisional role - Focus on healing, rebuilding; excitement builds for fresh start, special convention. UPDATE: Bishop Jerry Lamb, loyal to U.S. Episcopal Church was elected today to lead the San Joaquin diocese of the Episcopal Church.

Dutch Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar has praised Dutch Islamic organisations for their response to right-wing MP Geert Wilders' anti-Qur'an film, Fitna, which was released on the internet on Thursday.

Geert Wilders' anti-Islam movie has gone online. The film, titled Fitna or ‘Ordeal' or 'Strife' in Arabic, shows verses of the Qur'an alternating with graphic scenes of recent acts of terror: the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, the charred bodies of train passengers in Madrid, gruesome images from atrocities in London and Somalia.

The United States internet provider Network Solutions says it first wants to view the anti-Qur'an film Fitna produced by Dutch populist MP Geert Wilders before deciding whether to allow him to post the film.