2020/06/28: St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday celebrated its first public Mass since March, when it stopped in-person attendance during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S.
Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.The church’s haul may have reached -- or even exceeded -- $3.5 billion, making a global religious institution with more than a billion followers among the biggest winners in the U.S.