Religion

Forced assimilation and abuse: How US boarding schools devastated Native American tribes

President Biden is expected to issue an historic apology Friday for the 150-year government effort to break up Native American culture, language and identity by forcing children into abusive boarding schools.

President Biden to apologize for 150-year Indian boarding school policy

The Czech Republic becomes one of last EU countries to sign a treaty with the Vatican

French culture minister proposes entrance fee for Notre Dame to help fund preservation work

Evangelicals emerge as a potent lobby for US support of Ukraine

Pope Francis denounces a world ‘losing its heart’ in fourth encyclical of his papacy

Pope Francis has issued the fourth encyclical of his papacy, denouncing a world that “is losing its heart” during times of global turmoil marked by “wars, socio-economic disparities and the uses of technology that threaten our humanity.”

Thousands mourn the Turkish spiritual leader who died in US

Family, friends and followers of Fethullah Gülen have gathered to pay respects to the influential Turkish spiritual leader and Islamic scholar who died this week in self-exile in the United States.

‘Conclave’ and Ralph Fiennes go for the (papal) throne

A bunch of old men in robes sitting inside and picking a pontiff is not your average pitch in Hollywood.

Movie Review: It’s all politics at the Vatican in ‘Conclave’

In Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” the selection of the pope is no holy affair. Instead, it’s a petty, political campaign carried out in secrecy.

★★★★

Peruvian theologian the Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, father of influential liberation theology, has died

Peruvian theologian the Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the father of the social justice-centered liberation theology that the Vatican once criticized for its Marxist undercurrents, has died.

Louisiana’s 2020 Teacher of the Year is trying to block the state’s Ten Commandments law

Louisiana’s 2020 Teacher of the Year, has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.

Arrested Philippine televangelist confronted in the Senate by women he’s accused of sexually abusing

Former followers of an arrested Filipino televangelist confronted him in a Senate hearing Wednesday, accusing him of repeatedly abusing them sexually by portraying the assaults as their religious duty to the “appointed son of God.”

Fallout from 2023 Hamas attack lingers as Jews worldwide observe a holiday meant for joy

Customarily, Simchat Torah is one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar, highlighted by exuberant dancing around a Torah.

Malaysia charges 22 members of an Islamic business group, including its CEO, for organized crime

Twenty-two members of an Islamic business group, including its CEO, have been charged for being part of an organized crime group after hundreds of children believed to have been sexually abused were rescued from welfare homes linked to the group.

Burial held for Catholic priest and Indigenous peace activist killed in southern Mexico

Hundreds of people have turned out for the burial of Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

About 140 Rohingya Muslims on wooden boat off Indonesia’s coast as residents refuse to let them land

Indonesian officials say about 140 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, are on a wooden boat anchored about 1 mile off the coast of Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh, and local residents refused to allow them onto land.

China and the Vatican agree to extend an agreement on appointing bishops

China and the Vatican have agreed to extend a provisional agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four more years.

Panamanians crawl to reach the Black Christ of Portobelo in annual religious pilgrimage

At dawn, pilgrims like Ernesto Troya undertook the hardest stretch of their journey to reach the image of the Black Christ of Portobelo in Panama.

Hundreds mourn Catholic priest and Indigenous peace activist killed in southern Mexico

Hundreds of people have turned out to mourn Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

DeSantis using state money, time and his power to fight abortion rights measure

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is focusing his official office on fighting an abortion rights amendment.

Self-exiled Turkish spiritual leader Fethullah Gülen dies in the US

Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a global social movement while facing accusations he masterminded a failed 2016 coup in his native Turkey, has died.

Some Jewish voters in presidential swing states reconsider their longtime devotion to Democrats

Pennsylvania has the biggest Jewish population of any swing state, and any shift could have enormous implications in a state decided by narrow margins the past two presidential elections.

Judge hears arguments to block Louisiana’s Ten Commandments displays in schools

A federal judge has heard arguments on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.

Catholic priest and Indigenous activist Pérez killed by 2 gunmen in southern Mexico

Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez has been killed in Mexico. Pérez was an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm workers in southern Mexico. He was killed on Sunday.

Trump boosts a hard-right Christian worldview that paints the election as ‘spiritual warfare’

Donald Trump’s campaign has nourished a fusion of hard-right politics and theology to energize evangelical Christians in swing states.

Yehuda Bauer, prominent Israeli Holocaust scholar, dies at 98

Yehuda Bauer, one of Israel’s foremost Holocaust scholars who shaped the way people around the world study and learn about the Holocaust, has died in Jerusalem.

What training puppies is teaching a group of monks about God, life and love

A group of Orthodox monks in upstate New York takes the Christian imperative to care for creation more literally than most religious communities.

Harris urges Black churchgoers in Georgia to head out to vote and gets an assist from Stevie Wonder

Kamala Harris has visited two Atlanta-area church where she summoned Black members of the congregations to turn out at the polls.

Children greet King Charles III and Queen Camilla outside a Sydney church

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been greeted by children outside a Sydney church in their first public appearance of their Australian visit.

Faith-based environmental groups take on fossil fuels as ‘a sacred duty’

(RNS) — In mid-September, Val Smith, chief sustainability officer at Citigroup, one of the United States’ Big Four of banking, met with four religious environmental activists to discuss the company’s record on fossil fuel investment.

In Helene’s and Milton’s wake, faith-based disaster relief groups prepare for the long haul

(RNS) — This past Sunday, worshippers returned to Biltmore Church, a megachurch in Asheville, North Carolina, for the first time in person after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina.

What’s a ‘Jezebel spirit’? Some Christians use the term to paint Kamala Harris with a demonic brush

Christian nationalist leaders are telling followers that Vice President Kamala Harris is under the influence of a “Jezebel spirit.”

What to know about the Los Angeles Catholic Church’s $880M settlement with sexual abuse victims

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades.

Oklahoma parents and teachers sue to stop top education official’s classroom Bible mandate

A group of Oklahoma parents, teachers and ministers are suing to stop the state’s top education official from forcing schools to incorporate the Bible into their lesson plans.

Cissy Houston mourned by Dionne Warwick, politicians and more at longtime church

A revered soul and gospel singer and the mother of Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston’s life was celebrated nearly a week after her death at 91.