Roman Catholicism
In Coachella Valley, Catholic Church ministers to indigenous Purépechas
By Alejandra Molina — September 30, 2019
MECCA, Calif. (RNS) — Aida Sansor and Maria Teresa Pacheco have traveled the Eastern Coachella Valley area, seeking to connect with the indigenous Purépecha community.
Death penalty decision answers lingering questions about how Barr’s faith affects his politics
By Charles C. Camosy — July 26, 2019
(RNS) — The worry that Barr might impose his private religious views on federal matters has apparently been overblown.
Africa-wide Roman Catholic body marks 50 years of progress
By Paul O'Donnell — July 24, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Established during Pope Paul VI's 1969 visit to Uganda, the first by a pope in Africa, SECAM once consisted of fewer than 50 clerics. The symposium now brings together some 400 cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests from 40 national and regional bodies.
Foster mother of more than 100 children works to recruit Latino families
By Paul O'Donnell — July 5, 2019
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The county's family services agency funds recruitment efforts in faith communities, Latino Catholics in particular, to make sure local children in need find a home that is a good cultural fit.
Despite deaths of its chief promoters, Mexican cult of Santa Muerte prospers
By Jair Cabrera Torres — July 5, 2019
SANTA ANA CHAPITIRO, Mexico (RNS) — The image of death has loomed over Mexican music, dance and literature for centuries. A new addition is the cult of Santa Muerte, which has become increasingly popular in the past two decades.
Why Catholic bishops need a year of abstinence on preaching about sexuality
By John Gehring — June 25, 2019
(RNS) — The hubris displayed in making sexuality the lynchpin of Catholic identity when bishops have failed to convince their flock that they are prepared to police predators could be countered with some listening.
Julián Castro: Democrats ‘put in a box’ on religion and morality
By Simran Jeet Singh — June 25, 2019
(RNS) — For both sides, treating human beings with basic respect and dignity, no matter who they are, is a test.
How a Catholic bishop and Jordan Peterson became fellow travelers
By Tara Isabella Burton — June 21, 2019
(RNS) — Peterson and his 'new atavists' share with their Catholic brethren a disillusionment with what they see as the feminization of contemporary, post-feminist, post-sexual-revolution America.
In St. Louis, former houses of worship are retooled to meet the city’s needs
By Bill Motchan — June 6, 2019
ST. LOUIS (RNS) — Many retired but architecturally significant houses of worship are surviving by converting to new uses that benefit their neighborhoods or cities in ways their original congregants might approve but never imagined.
Latest Catholic scandal spotlights questions of consent in priest-parishioner relationships
By Jack Jenkins — June 5, 2019
(RNS) — The fact that the accuser is an adult has not spared the church new scrutiny about its slowness to respond to sexual misconduct claims or about what experts have been quick to call confusion regarding what constitutes consent.
Can a Catholic critique of ‘throwaway culture’ pull politics from the brink?
By Charles C. Camosy — May 15, 2019
(RNS) — The church’s Consistent Life Ethic, rightly understood, could challenge our impoverished and incoherent political imagination and let a new generation begin the hard work of laying out the foundational principles for what comes next.
The priest and the ‘Fleabag’ forge mutual faith in Amazon comedy series
By Catherine Pepinster — May 15, 2019
(RNS) — In the second season of a popular TV comedy series, a handsome, swearing, gin-swilling cleric won over a 'lying, acerbic sex addict' — not to mention the famously secular U.K. America is next.
As Sudanese protesters demand democracy, Catholic bishop pushes for freedom of worship
By Fredrick Nzwili — April 24, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — While cheered by the role Christians have played in liberating the largely Muslim country from its dictator, Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku wants to see the laws that impede religious freedom change as well.
For millennials, mysticism shows a path to their home faiths
By Cathleen Falsani — April 16, 2019
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (RNS) — A growing number of millennials are finding that contemplative spirituality is a way to bridge the faith they grew up with and their yearning for deeper connections to God.
Learning how to mourn among the Maya
By Julia Lieblich — April 11, 2019
(RNS) — The Maya have taught me how to honor the dead, naming and remember the people some politicians would have them forget.
