Religion

Catholic bishops call for authorities to step up against violence in southern Mexico

Four Roman Catholic bishops in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero called Monday for civilian and military authorities to take steps to protect residents of a region rocked by violence that has left more than a dozen dead in recent days.

Republicans seek votes among the Amish, who rarely cast them, in swing-state Pennsylvania

Biden marks anniversary of Pittsburgh synagogue attack that killed 11

Bavarian tradition honors St. Leonhard, patron saint of farmers, horses and livestock

Swing-state priest teaches ancient techniques for surviving today’s political turmoil

This year’s Rockefeller Center tree will travel to New York from Massachusetts

This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will travel to New York City from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

A thriller about electing a pope draws crowds at the Rome Film Festival near the Vatican

With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican.

Pope Francis’ Catholic church reform process ends without giving more equity to women

Pope Francis’ yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church has ended with recommendations that fall far short of giving women more equity as hoped.

Native Americans laud Biden for historic apology over boarding schools. They want action to follow

President Joe Biden has done something that no other sitting U.S. president has: He apologized for the systemic abuse generations of Indigenous children endured at the hands of the federal government.

Nuns push back after GOP political activist casts doubt on their Pennsylvania voting registration

A group of Pennsylvania nuns says a conservative political organizer posted “false and misleading information” about them by claiming no one lives at their home in Erie and making vague threats to consult his lawyers about them.

Two historic Philadelphia churches offer lessons for an America divided today and in its infancy

Christ Church is so symbolic to the birth of America that it’s called the Nation’s Church. It’s the site where George Washington worshipped and where colonial America made its break with the Church of England.

Takeaways from AP’s report on the past and present of two historic Philadelphia churches

The two historic churches are less than a mile apart in Philadelphia. Christ Church is where some of the Founding Fathers worshipped, and where colonial America made its break with the Church of England.

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

President Joe Biden says he will formally apologize on for the nation’s role in forcing Indigenous children into boarding schools, where for more than 150 years many were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, and more than 950 died.

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

The Czech Republic has signed a treaty over its relations with the Vatican, becoming one of the last European Union countries to do so.

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

France’s culture minister has proposed introducing an entrance fee to visit Notre Dame cathedral in Paris when it reopens in December, aiming to generate funds for the preservation of the country’s religious heritage.

Evangelicals emerge as a potent lobby for US support of Ukraine

Ukrainian evangelicals are lobbying their American counterparts for continued support of their homeland in its war with Russia.

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.