MADRID, Spain – Over the past nine years, Spain has been hit particularly hard by the worldwide economic crisis.

MADRID, Spain – The prison ministry founded by a Spanish Jesuit in the 1960s has had such fruits as a group of inmates donating their own money to help the needy at Christmas, according to the head of the foundation.

ANTEZANA DE FORONDA, Spain – The Iglesia de San Miguel is the pride of this tiny town in Spain’s Basque Country. Yet the 16th-century church, with its spectacular wooden carvings and baroque altarpiece, had fallen on hard times.

ROME – An artist who converted an abandoned church in Spain into an indoor skateboarding park is defending the project against critics who consider it an act of desecration.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has rejected a request by a transgender man in Spain to become a godparent, ruling that his sexual identity means he is incapable of carrying out the task.

MADRID - A Spanish bishop who worked as an engineer before becoming first prelate of the Opus Dei movement has been beatified in his native Madrid.

OXFORD, ENGLAND - King Juan Carlos of Spain received a tribute from the country’s bishops after he announced his decision to abdicate the throne in favour of his son.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - If everything you know about exorcism you learned by watching the movie, "The Exorcist," Father Jose Antonio Fortea wants to exorcise those notions from your head.

To learn about exorcism, Father Fortea said the best textbook is the Bible, especially the Gospels, because after all, Jesus was an exorcist.

Father Fortea, a priest of the Diocese of Alcala de Henares in Spain, is an exorcist. He is the author of several books including "Interview With an Exorcist." Currently based in Rome studying for his doctorate in theology, he was in Florida recently to give talks about exorcism and pastoral care.