WASHINGTON (RNS) If used against him in the fall presidential election, negative stigmas or stereotypes about Mormonism could be hard to overcome for Mitt Romney's campaign, according to an academic study released Monday. By Steve Koff.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has wrapped up his regular meetings with small groups of U.S. bishops, touching all the hot-button issues of the presidential campaign, from same-sex marriage to religious freedom, and many more. Here's a recap of what he said. By Alessandro Speciale.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (RNS) The face of aging in America isn't a pretty one. Not because the flesh is sagging, but because the nation that once built schools, malls and suburbs for Boomer families when they were young has turned against its elderly. By Tom Ehrich.

LOS ANGELES (RNS) Muslim leaders have worked with the Los Angeles Police Department to modify its new surveillance program on suspicious activities, following recent disclosure that the New York Police Department had been spying on local Muslims. By David Finnigan.

(RNS) Dozens of Catholic universities, dioceses and other institutions filed lawsuits on Monday (May 21) to overturn the Obama administration’s contraception mandate plan, a clear and coordinated effort to oppose the new federal mandate. By David Gibson.

(RNS) In the propaganda surrounding the Obama administration's contraception mandate, the Department of Health and Human Services seems to suggest that women’s only stake in the matter is "free" contraception.  This is a shallow -- and frankly demeaning -- view of women. By Helen Alvare.

The NYT dives into Romney's Mormonism; Hasidic Jews denounce the Internets; the Vatican condemns a book.

 (RNS) In the North American Old Catholic Church, priests practice a brand of Catholicism that most Catholics wouldn’t recognize. There are married gay priests, open Communion and no allegiance to Rome. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

(RNS) With Election 2012 less than six months away, congregations are getting the message that Americans want religion out of politics. So they're revamping how congregations mobilize voters, largely avoiding the political fray, and hot-button social issues are relegated to simmer in low-profile church study groups. By G. Jeffrey MacDonald.

(RNS) For now, forget about your career and what you will become. Don’t worry that your grade in bio-statistics or geology won’t land you that great job. It’s probably not that great anyway. Now is the time to focus on who you are going to become. By Will Berkovitz.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI thanked American nuns for their “fidelity and self-sacrifice” in a speech to U.S. bishops in Rome. He also praised the American church’s efforts in favor of immigration reform. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) The author who turned Georgetown University into a horror scene in "The Exorcist" plans to sue the school in church courts, saying his alma mater has strayed too far from the church to call itself Catholic. By Daniel Burke.

LONDON (RNS)  Nearly three-quarters of people in England believe Queen Elizabeth II should retain her position as titular head of the Church of England, according to a new poll. By Al Webb.

(RNS) More than two dozen faculty members have resigned from Shorter University, a Baptist school in Georgia, after it required them to sign a “personal lifestyle statement” that condemns homosexuality, premarital sex and public drinking. By Adelle M. Banks.