Religious and social conflicts are roiling the Roman Catholic Church. Amid seething tensions between the historically Christian West and the Muslim world, Pope Benedict XVI has alternated confrontation with Islam and conciliation - each approach prompting intense criticism, both within the church and among Muslims. Conflict over the church's ban against condom use has proved no less divisive. In addition, wide-ranging sexual abuse of youths by more than 4,400 American priests so far has cost the church $1.4 billion in legal settlements and expenses. In Africa, conflict centers on resistance to the church's law that priests practice celibacy and never marry. Meanwhile, even as the number of Catholics worldwide has grown to more than 1 billion, the number of priests and nuns has dropped catastrophically, sparking the growing influence of the Catholic laity.

Peter Katel is a CQ Researcher contributing writer who previously reported on Haiti and Latin America for Time and Newsweek and covered the Southwest for newspapers in New Mexico. He has received several journalism awards, including the Bartolomé Mitre Award for drug coverage from the Inter-American Press Association and awards for investigative and interpretive reporting from the New Mexico Press Association. He holds an A.B. in university studies from the University of New Mexico.