Tensions on the rise at revered Kyiv monastery complex
March 26, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The courtyards of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra have been busy with more than just the usual worshippers, going to and from its churches in the sprawling monastic complex that is Ukraine’s most revered Orthodox site.
Finnish leadership condemns attack on veteran lawmaker
March 25, 2023 GMTHELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s leaders strongly condemned an assault on a Jewish lawmaker who was assaulted and punched in the face Saturday while campaigning for the country's April 2 general election.
Jehovah’s Witnesses mourn victims of Hamburg shooting
March 25, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany held a memorial service Saturday for the six people killed during a mass shooting at a religious service in Hamburg this month.
German bishop resigns, cites responsibility in abuse scandal
March 25, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday accepted a resignation request from a German bishop who asked to step down because of his mistakes in handling sexual abuse cases.
Pope expands sex abuse law, reaffirms adults can be victims
March 25, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when they are unable to freely consent.
U.S. bishops’ new guidelines aim to limit trans health care
March 24, 2023 GMTUnited States Catholic bishops have issued guidelines that seek to stop Catholic hospitals from providing gender transition care, a move LGBTQ advocates say could harm the physical and emotional health of transgender people within the church.
NY’s power to regulate religious schools trimmed by judge
March 24, 2023 GMTALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Parents cannot be required to pull their children from private schools in New York that fail to meet state-designated standards, a judge decided, striking down a key provision of rules recently passed to strengthen oversight of such schools, including those specializing in religious education.
Police: Minnesota man fatally stabs wife during Bible study
March 24, 2023 GMTST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man is accused of fatally stabbing his wife during a Bible study session.
Police in St. Paul called to a home around 9 p.m. Tuesday found Corinna Woodhull with knife wounds to her torso, chest and arms and people holding down her husband, 40-year-old Robert Castillo, authorities say in charging documents.
Brothers skip Pride jerseys; Panthers lose to Maple Leafs
March 24, 2023 GMTSUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brothers Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers declined to wear special Pride-themed warmup jerseys ahead of the team’s 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
The jerseys were part of Florida’s Pride night game in support of the area’s LGBTQ community, and the brothers cited their religion as the reason for the decision.
Minnesota moves to strengthen status as ‘trans refuge state’
March 23, 2023 GMTST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House was moving Thursday toward strengthening the state's protections for children and their families who come for gender-affirming care by making Minnesota a “trans refuge state,” bucking a national backlash against transgender rights.
Why the religious fast for Ramadan, Lent and other holy days
March 23, 2023 GMTMuslims around the world are welcoming the start of Ramadan, a month of fasting, increased worship, heightened charity, good deeds and community.
Ramadan starts in Mideast amid high costs, hopes for peace
March 23, 2023 GMTKHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Hundreds of millions of Muslims began the first daily fast of Ramadan on Thursday, as parts of the Middle East approached crucial junctures in high-stakes peace negotiations during the holy month, traditionally a time of reconciliation.
Georgia bill on antisemitism lives again after new vote
March 23, 2023 GMTA new Senate committee has given new life to a bill that would formally define antisemitism in Georgia law.
The Senate Children and Families Committee voted 6-2 on Thursday to insert language that had previously been in a different bill into House Bill 144.
UK: Man charged over 2 fire attacks on people near mosques
March 23, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — British police have charged a 28-year-old man with two counts of attempted murder after men were set on fire near mosques.
The West Midlands Police force said Mohammed Abbkr was charged over attacks in London and Birmingham, central England.
Israeli leader halts bill against Christian proselytizing
March 22, 2023 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he would prevent the passage of a proposal by a powerful ally in his governing coalition to punish Christian proselytizing with jail time.
New bill aims to outlaw caste discrimination in California
March 22, 2023 GMTCalifornia may become the first state in the nation to outlaw caste-based bias, a safeguard people of South Asian descent say is necessary to protect them from discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where they hold key roles.
Pioneer of gospel music rediscovered in Pittsburgh archives
March 22, 2023 GMTPITTSBURGH (AP) — Scattered in crates, dirty and difficult to read, the gospel music of composer Charles Henry Pace sat packed away, unorganized — and unrealized — for more than 20 years.
Frances Pace Barnes, the pioneering music publisher’s daughter who remembers how he could turn a hum into a song, knew the crates held pieces of her family’s past.
One of the oldest surviving Bibles could be yours — for $30 million
March 22, 2023 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — One of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts, a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible, could soon be yours — for a cool $30 million.
The Codex Sassoon, a leather-bound, handwritten parchment tome containing almost the entirety of the Hebrew Bible, is set to go on the block at Sotheby’s in New York in May.
Holy month of Ramadan begins for Muslims across the world
March 22, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began at sundown on Wednesday, as the faithful prepared for a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting intended to bring them closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate.
Muslims in Indonesia celebrate Ramadan amid soaring prices
March 22, 2023 GMTJAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Millions of Muslims in Indonesia are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan that was set to begin Thursday as many grappled with soaring food prices as a result of supply disruptions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Australian jury mulls verdicts in Israeli principal trial
March 22, 2023 GMTMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian jury retired on Wednesday to consider their verdicts following the six-week trial of a former principal of a Melbourne ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls school accused of molesting three sisters.
Muslim authorities say Ramadan fasting to begin Thursday
March 22, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Muslim authorities in Saudi Arabia and several other Middle Eastern countries say this year's fasting month of Ramadan will begin Thursday based on the expected sighting of the crescent moon.
Apaches tell court copper mine would harm sacred sites
March 21, 2023 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — A Native American group that's trying to stop an effort to build one of the largest copper mines in the United States told a full federal appeals court panel Tuesday that the project would prevent Apaches from exercising their religion by destroying land they consider sacred.
German prosecutors examined late pope in abuse probe
March 21, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors looking into historical cases of sexual abuse by clergy in the Munich archdiocese said Tuesday that they initially investigated the late Pope Benedict XVI on suspicion of being an accessory to abuse, but later dropped the probe.
Jehovah’s Witnesses: Hamburg attack survivors out of danger
March 21, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The Jehovah’s Witnesses say all of the survivors of a shooting at one of its halls in Hamburg earlier this month are out of danger.
A 35-year-old German shot dead six people during a service on March 9.
Greek city marks 80th anniversary of Auschwitz train convoy
March 19, 2023 GMTTHESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, commemorated on Sunday the 80th anniversary of the departure of the first train convoy for the Auschwitz camp.
Officials, led by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, marched from Eleftherias ("Freedom") Square, where members of the city’s Jewish community were rounded up by the German occupying forces, to the city’s Old Train Station, where they laid red carnations on the tracks.
Pope Benedict XVI’s aide acknowledges criticism over memoir
March 19, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — The longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Sunday that his tell-all memoir, published in the days after Benedict’s death, had been criticized for casting Pope Francis in an unfavorable light, but insisted that some of the polemics were more about anti-Benedict prejudice than anything else.
Pope offers prayer for earthquake victims in Ecuador, Peru
March 19, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday for the victims of an earthquake that shook vast swaths of territory in Ecuador and parts of Peru.
During his weekly Sunday noon blessing, Francis recalled that the 6.8-magnitude temblor caused “death, injuries and heavy damage.”
Pope promotes ‘humanitarian corridors’ for asylum-seekers
March 18, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Saturday with thousands of refugees and charity groups hosting them in Italy as he sought to promote legal migration routes to Europe as an alternative to smuggling operations that he said have turned the Mediterranean Sea into a “cemetery.”
Vatican closes embassy in Nicaragua after Ortega’s crackdown
March 18, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Saturday it had closed its embassy in Nicaragua after the country's government proposed suspending diplomatic relations, the latest episode in a yearslong crackdown on the Catholic Church by the administration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Mormon Church gives water to boost imperiled Great Salt Lake
March 17, 2023 GMTSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donating a small reservoir's worth of water rights to Utah's Great Salt Lake.
2nd Vatican official says pope OK’d ransom payments for nun
March 17, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorized spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali.
Librarian fired for ‘unkind pushback’ at conservative event
March 17, 2023 GMTHENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A library director in Tennessee has been fired after the actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron accused him of “unkind pushback” to visiting celebrities during a conservative event last month, officials said.
Vatican unveils new ethnographic display of Rwanda screens
March 16, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican Museums officially reopened its African and American ethnographic collections Thursday by showcasing intricately restored Rwandan raffia screens that were sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibit.
Pope sought to lose ‘as little as possible’ in London deal
March 16, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis gave clear indications to get out of a disastrous London real estate deal by saying the Vatican must “start over and lose as little money as possible," an exit strategy that eventually involved paying off a broker 15 million euros, the Holy See’s No.
Russia OKs alternative civil service for mobilized believer
March 16, 2023 GMTTALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Russia on Thursday affirmed the right of a man mobilized to fight in Ukraine to perform an alternative form of civil service due to his stated religious beliefs, setting a precedent that could persuade more reluctant draftees to try to get out of military service.
US tribes get bison as they seek to restore bond with animal
March 16, 2023 GMTGOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — Dozens of bison from a mountain park outside Denver were transferred Wednesday to several tribes from across the Great Plains, in the latest example of Native Americans reclaiming stewardship over animals their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.
Texas judge in abortion pill case is a conservative favorite
March 15, 2023 GMTNY diocese facing flood of lawsuits files for bankruptcy
March 15, 2023 GMTALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The embattled Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany became the latest diocese in New York to seek bankruptcy protection Wednesday as it faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse.
‘Nazi’ references: BBC sportscaster’s tweet revives debate
March 15, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The references seem endless, and they can come from anywhere. In recent days, Pope Francis compared Nicaragua's repression of Catholics to Adolf Hitler's rule in Germany. In Britain, a BBC sportscaster likened the nation's asylum policy to 1930s Germany, resulting in his brief suspension and a national uproar.
Austrian police: Possible threat to Vienna places of worship
March 15, 2023 GMTVIENNA (AP) — Austrian police warned Wednesday of a possible “Islamist-motivated attack” in Vienna against churches and other houses of worship, citing undisclosed information received by the country's intelligence service.
Videos show scattered protests during Iran’s fire festival
March 15, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians have held scattered anti-government protests during an annual fire festival with ancient roots, according to videos circulating online.
The videos appeared to show protesters in different cities chanting against the country's ruling clerics and hurling firecrackers at security forces during celebrations of Chaharshanbe Soori, which took place on Tuesday.
Catholic system pulls out of Connecticut hospital merger
March 15, 2023 GMTPUTNAM, Conn. (AP) — A Catholic-run health care system has withdrawn its application to affiliate with Day Kimball Healthcare, an independent, financially struggling hospital and health care system in northeastern Connecticut.
Polish Church defends John Paul sainthood after abuse claims
March 14, 2023 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — The leaders of Poland’s Catholic Church on Tuesday defended the late John Paul II’s sainthood and fast-track canonization process in response to a Polish TV report alleging that he covered up clergy sex abuses while archbishop in Poland.
1 victim’s life still in danger after Hamburg shooting
March 14, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — One victim's life is still in danger after last week's shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall in Hamburg in which a former member of the congregation killed six people and then himself, authorities said Tuesday.
Spain’s ombudsman registers 445 church sex abuse complaints
March 13, 2023 GMTMADRID (AP) — Spain’s ombudsman said Monday that an independent commission set up a year ago to investigate historic sex abuse by the Catholic church has collected testimonies from 445 victims, as the nation tackles an issue other European countries acted on long ago.
10 iconic moments in Pope Francis’ first 10 years as pontiff
March 13, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis marks the 10th anniversary of his election as pope on Monday. During that decade, several historic occasions, as well as several unplanned events, helped define the contours and priorities of history's first Latin American pontiff.
Argentina’s initial fervor for Pope Francis has faded
March 12, 2023 GMTBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, much of his home country celebrated as if it had just won a soccer World Cup championship. A decade later, the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church generates divided opinions and much less fervor.
Jehovah’s Witnesses shocked by Hamburg attack, thank police
March 11, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The Jehovah’s Witnesses expressed shock Saturday over the deadly shooting at one of the group's halls in Hamburg, Germany, but thanked German authorities for preventing more bloodshed through their swift intervention during the attack.
Trump vs. DeSantis: Florida pastors mull conservative issues
March 11, 2023 GMTDORAL, Florida (AP) — Several of Florida’s conservative faith leaders have the ear of two early frontrunners for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – former President Donald Trump, who lives in Palm Beach, and Gov.
Pope Francis at 10 years: A reformer’s learning curve, plans
March 11, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — So much for a short pontificate.
Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down.
German gunman kills 6 at Hamburg Jehovah’s Witness hall
March 10, 2023 GMTHAMBURG, Germany (AP) — A gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovah’s Witness hall in Germany, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived, authorities in the port city of Hamburg said Friday.
German church reform assembly calls for same-sex blessings
March 10, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A meeting between Germany’s Catholic bishops and lay representatives agreed Friday to call for the church to approve blessings of same-sex unions.
At a glance: Jehovah’s Witness beliefs, history in Germany
March 10, 2023 GMTA gunman attacked a service held by his former congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses at their worship hall on Thursday night, killing six people and injuring eight before taking his own life in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said.
French church abuse victims get reparations, and recognition
March 10, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — "I came back to life.”
Like other victims of child abuse by priests, 52-year-old Stéphane said getting an official recognition from France’s Catholic Church of what happened is helping him get better, at last.
Multiple dead in Jehovah’s Witness hall shooting in Germany
March 10, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, with several people killed and wounded, police said.
West Virginia GOP governor signs ‘religious freedom’ bill
March 9, 2023 GMTCHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a law Thursday described by supporters as a tool to protect religious freedom but labeled a “license to discriminate” by LGBTQ rights advocates.
Suspect in shooting of 2 Jewish men in LA pleads not guilty
March 9, 2023 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — A man who allegedly shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last month pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal hate crimes, authorities said.
John Paul abuse claims trigger angry reactions in Poland
March 9, 2023 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Fallout from a TV report alleging that St. John Paul II covered up clergy sex abuse cases escalated Thursday, with Poland’s Catholic Church and lawmakers defending him as one of the greatest Poles ever and the government “inviting” the U.S.
France: About 200 church sex abuse victims get compensation
March 9, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — About 190 victims of child sexual abuse by priests or other church representatives have been promised financial compensation so far from France’s Catholic Church under a sweeping reparations program, the independent body in charge of the process said Thursday.
Contentious German church reform assembly opens last meeting
March 9, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Catholic bishops and lay representatives gathered on Thursday for the final meeting of a potentially groundbreaking reform assembly that has been marked by tensions between liberalizers and conservatives and is drawing increasingly open opposition from the Vatican.
Israel’s Netanyahu flies to Rome as Meloni condemns swastika
March 9, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Far-right Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni condemned antisemitic graffiti directed at her main rival on Thursday, ahead of a visit to Italy by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his first since Meloni's victory last year.
Fear, anxiety follow Nicaraguan faith leaders into exile
March 9, 2023 GMTSAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) — For two hours each afternoon, the Catholic priest listens to confessions behind a glass wall where anyone nearby can spot him. Yet that visibility is deceptive; he yearns to keep his name and exact whereabouts a secret to the outside world.
Polish PM defends John Paul II after report he knew of abuse
March 8, 2023 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister on Wednesday stepped in to defend the good name of St. John Paul II, a “great fellow-countryman,” following claims that he knew of sex abuse of minors by priests under his authority while archbishop in Poland and sought to conceal it.
Pope bolsters women at Vatican but resistance remains
March 8, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has significantly increased the Vatican's female workforce, including in high-ranking positions, but women face continued resistance from the all-male Catholic hierarchy to access leadership positions in the church, according to Vatican statistics and independent surveys released Wednesday.
‘Stranger at the Gate,’ an Oscar nominee on love after hate
March 8, 2023 GMTWhen Richard McKinney was getting married last year, friends stepped in to help. Bibi Bahrami cooked Afghan dishes — from rice with carrots and raisins to chicken and beef — for the wedding guests. Her husband officiated the Islamic part of the ceremony.
AP PHOTOS: Indians celebrate Holi, Hindu festival of color
March 8, 2023 GMTNEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians on Wednesday celebrated the Holi festival, dancing to the beat of drums, smearing each other with green, yellow and red colors and exchanging sweets in homes, parks and streets.
Polish TV report: John Paul II knew of abuse as archbishop
March 7, 2023 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — St. John Paul II knew about sexual abuse of children by priests under his authority and sought to conceal it when he was an archbishop in his native Poland, a television news report has alleged.
Ukrainian refugees celebrate Purim in Berlin as war drags on
March 7, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Hundreds of refugees from Ukraine celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim in Berlin Tuesday dressed in colorful costumes and dancing to loud Israeli music.
They danced, drank and ate together with hundreds of other members of the German capital's Chabad community that organized the party in a hotel.
Vatican ‘donating’ its own 3 Parthenon sculptures to Greece
March 7, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — The Vatican and Greece finalized a deal Tuesday for the return of three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries, the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution.
Pope renews cabinet of cardinal advisers, adds new members
March 7, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has renewed his cabinet of cardinal advisers from around the world, naming a handful of new members Tuesday and reconfirming others to help him run the Catholic Church.
Francis instituted the Council of Cardinals one month into his papacy, on April 13, 2013, with a primary goal of advising him on the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.
Tribes bury Southern California’s famed mountain lion, P-22
March 7, 2023 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — Tribal leaders, scientists and conservation advocates buried Southern California's most famous mountain lion Saturday in the mountains where the big cat once roamed.
Miami faith community strains to help new exiles, migrants
March 5, 2023 GMTHIALEAH, Florida (AP) — A few days after selling all she had to flee Cuba with her three children on a crowded boat, Daneilis Tamayo raised her hand in praise and sang the rousing opening hymn at Sunday worship in this Miami suburb.
Man gets 18 months in prison for antisemitic assaults in NY
March 4, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — A man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday after pleading guilty to a federal hate crime conspiracy charge in a series of antisemitic assaults in New York City.
Saadah Masoud, 29, of Staten Island was arrested in June after authorities said he punched and dragged a counterprotester, who was draped in an Israeli flag, at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in April.
Oil for Charles III’s coronation consecrated in Jerusalem
March 4, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Two senior clergymen in Jerusalem have consecrated the holy oil that will be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation, as the Anglican Church seeks to underscore the monarchy’s long history and the royal family’s links to the Middle East.
Vermont bishop testifies against clergy reporting bill
March 3, 2023 GMTMONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Church's rite of confession must remain confidential, even if someone tells a priest that a child has been abused, the bishop who leads Vermont's diocese testified Friday.
Need a Lenten fish fry? There’s an interactive map for that
March 3, 2023 GMTWEXFORD, Pa. (AP) — By the time the doors open at 4:30 p.m., a boisterous line of 50 hungry people is looping around the gymnasium foyer at Blessed Francis Seelos Academy. Their objective: to occupy tables on the basketball court and, for the parish’s first time since the pandemic descended in 2020, sit down for an old-fashioned Lenten fish fry.
Transgender pastor claims bias, sues Lutheran denomination
March 3, 2023 GMTThe Rev. Megan Rohrer, who was elected as the first openly transgender bishop of one of the largest Christian denominations in the country in May 2021, has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was forced out from his post after enduring several months of discrimination and harassment.
Former mayor, Mormon bishop gets prison for child sex abuse
March 2, 2023 GMTSALT LAKE CITY (AP) —
A former Utah city mayor and one-time bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced Thursday for child sexual abuse at a hearing in which his victims wept while detailing the torment they endured.