Archbishop Charles J. Chaput who was appointed to the position by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011, has long been known as a theological and political conservative, often at odds with Pope Francis. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis significantly shifted the ideological balance of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States on Thursday by replacing one of the country’s most prominent conservative prelates as the archbishop of Philadelphia. Pope Francis announced in a statement that...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a global icon: a consequential leader of the civil-rights movement, an arbiter of peace and brotherhood, a Nobel Laureate for Peace, an eagle on the iroko. And, as we celebrate Dr. King’s national holiday, it’s best to hear him directly, read his epochal “Letters from the Birmingham Jail” to be reminded of what made him such a consequential and influential figure –of any age. “Letters from the Birmingham Jail”...

Iran said on Friday it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner that crashed, killing all 176 people aboard, after Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Iran, which has denied the Boeing 737-800 was downed by a missile, said it could take one or two months to extract information from the voice and flight data recorders. If it needed help, it...