Canadian pastor reported missing after trip to North Korea
On January 30, Lim traveled to North Korea from China with a companion from the church who last spoke with him the following day, on January 31. Lim was scheduled…
Tag: church
Excommunicated Mormon Kate Kelly Loses Final Appeal
The co-founder of a Mormon women’s group who was excommunicated last year has lost her final appeal to regain membership in the Utah-based church. Kate Kelly of Ordain Women said…
Restaurant In Hawaii Offers Fresh Start For Former Prostitutes, Convicts, Others Who Need A Hand
When Mary Nelson started working at a restaurant in Honolulu last year, she hid in the back as a dishwasher. Despite her lively personality and quick humor, she was too…
Restaurant In Hawaii Offers Fresh Start For Former Prostitutes, Convicts, Others Who Need A Hand
When Mary Nelson started working at a restaurant in Honolulu last year, she hid in the back as a dishwasher. Despite her lively personality and quick humor, she was too…
American Missionaries Are Detained in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela — Amid growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela, the authorities here detained four American missionaries this week and continued to hold them in custody on Friday,…
A Homeless Man, Willy Herteller, Was Buried At A Vatican Cemetery Usually Reserved For Bishops
A homeless man who used to roam the streets around St. Peter’s Basilica has found his final resting place among bishops. Willy Herteller, an 80-year-old Flemish man, died on a…
Father Theodore Hesburgh, legendary Notre Dame president, dies at 97
“We mourn today a great man and faithful priest who transformed the University of Notre Dame and touched the lives of many,” said the Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame’s…
Read The FBI’s File On ‘Radical Extremist’ Anti-Gay Pastor Fred Phelps
The Federal Bureau of Investigation had an extensive file on the late pastor of a fringe Christian church that was notorious for its public anti-gay demonstrations across the country, including…
Michigan Judge Allows Atheist’s ‘Reason Station’ Inside City Hall
If a church can have a prayer station inside city hall, then an atheist can have a reason station there, too. That’s what a federal judge concluded today in ordering…
Catholic Church Urges Britons To Consider Social Issues Before Voting
LONDON (AP) – Roman Catholic bishops in Britain have joined their Church of England counterparts in urging the faithful to vote in the forthcoming national election, and to consider a…
Gunmen Kidnap U.S. Woman In Nigeria
LAGOS, Feb 24 (Reuters) – A U.S. female citizen was kidnapped in central Nigeria’s Kogi state overnight, a security source and the website of her church the Free Methodist Church,…
Southern Baptists’ Goal Of Racially Integrated Churches Is Turning Out To Be An Uphill Battle
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) How tough is it to create a racially diverse denomination? Consider a recent luncheon organized by the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. About 100…
Pope Francis Honors St. Gregory Of Narek, A Revered Armenian Mystic And Poet
Pope Francis has given a gift of sorts to Armenian Catholics commemorating the 100th anniversary of the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, declaring a revered 10th-century mystic and poet,…
Magical Scenes As Snowstorm Blankets Middle East
A heavy winter storm descended on parts of the Middle East on Friday, with snow forcing the closure of all roads leading in and out of Jerusalem and sprinkling Israel’s…
Snow Won’t Stop These New England Churches From Soldiering On
(RNS) If God brought all this snow, he also made it very hard to get to church. New Englanders, clobbered by four major storms in the past month and bracing…
Pope’s Sex Abuse Point Man Urges Bishop Accountability
ROME (AP) – Pope Francis’ point man on clerical sex abuse says the failure of the church to punish bishops who covered up for pedophiles has seriously hurt its credibility…
Meet Baton Rouge’s Young, Rapping Catholic Priest
The youngest priest in the Diocese of Baton Rouge has a few confessions about his faith and his music: He didn’t like the Catholic Church as a youth, tried for…
Pope Francis Gives New Cardinals Tough Love: Put Aside Pride, Jealousy And Anger
Pope Francis welcomed 20 new cardinals Saturday into the elite club of churchmen who will elect his successor and immediately delivered a tough-love message, telling them to put aside their…
Pope Francis Slams ‘Prejudiced Mentality’ Of Believers Who Fearfully Cling To Religious Laws
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a powerful sermon that signaled his desire to push ahead with historic reforms, Pope Francis on Sunday (Feb. 15) said the Roman Catholic Church must be…
Episcopal Church Takes A Hard Look At Alcohol After Bishop Is Charged With Drunken Driving
WASHINGTON (RNS) Hundreds of American bicyclists die in collisions with cars each year, but a fatal December crash in Baltimore has triggered some serious soul-searching within the Episcopal Church: The…
In Spanish Abuse Scandal, a More Open Vatican
GRANADA, Spain — David Ramírez Castillo first met his parish priest, the Rev. Román Martínez, as a 7-year-old catechism student. Later, he became one of his altar boys. Step by…
United Methodist Church Makes Small Step Toward Accepting Same Sex Marriage
The United Methodist Church is taking a small step towards becoming a more welcoming place for LGBT people. The Connectional Table, a global church body tasked with articulating a vision…
This is a revolutionary pope
Catholicism is a global religion, of course, and it’s changing fast under the leadership of this very bold pontiff. The right-versus-left argument has also been in play, dramatically, as this…
Piper Chapman’s ‘Month In The Country’ And Other Off (And Off Off) Broadway Shows To See This Month
Off-Broadway plays can get really weird. Like, watermelon-being-smashed-to-bits-on-stage weird. So when the basic Broadway lineup starts to feel tired, it can be difficult to navigate theater options that extend beyond…
Pope Francis Looks To The ‘Peripheries’ For Latest Batch Of Cardinals
One hails from Tonga, where climate change is threatening the very existence of the archipelago. Several live in places tormented by drug violence and organized crime. Another represents a tiny,…
A Peek Into The Mormon Bedroom: Dealing With Sex And Religion
Devoted Mormons adhere to strict teachings that inform choices about everything from one’s diet to humanitarian service. And as with most religions, those teachings follow them through the most personal…
Mormon church excommunicates popular podcaster
Dehlin is the second Mormon to be excommunicated in the past year, following Kate Kelly, who was kicked out last June for pushing the church to admit women to its…
Vatican Abuse Commission To Recommend Action Against Bishops
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Feb 7 (Reuters) – A commission advising Pope Francis on how to root out sexual abuse of children by clergy in the Catholic Church is…
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone Getting Pushback For ‘Moral Clauses’
The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco is getting pushback from some parents, students and teachers at parochial schools after unveiling faculty handbook language calling on teachers to lead their…
Sam Smith’s ‘Lay Me Down’ Video Is A Beautiful Tribute Marriage Equality
Sam Smith debuted the music video for “Lay Me Down,” off “In The Lonely Hour,” on Thursday. In it, Smith gets married in a church among supportive friends and family,…