A Roman Catholic priest who won an appeal against his landmark conviction in the church sex abuse scandal has left a Pennsylvania prison after 18 months behind bars.

POPE Benedict XVI named a first batch of cardinals to elect his successor yesterday, sending strong political messages with nominations in Hong Kong and Venezuela and promoting two Americans with experience in the Church sex abuse scandal.

AN UPCOMING Vatican document on gays and the priesthood says men who demonstrate homosexual tendencies can’t become priests unless they can show they have lived chastely for at least three years, an Italian newspaper reported yesterday today.

A BOOK written by an English academic claims to have uncovered the first child sex abuse scandal to rock the Catholic Church.