Photos of the Week

This week’s gallery includes images from the Covington Catholic controversy, Pope Francis' visit to Panama, and more.

A young female Hindu devotee gets her cheeks pierced with a metal rod as she participates in a religious procession during Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Jan. 21, 2019. Thaipusam, which is celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s gallery includes images from the Covington Catholic controversy, Pope Francis’ visit to Panama, and more.

A young Hindu devotee gets her cheeks pierced with a metal rod as she participates in a religious procession during Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Jan. 21, 2019. Thaipusam, which is celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)


Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Nadvorna Hasidic dynasty celebrate the Jewish feast of “Tu Bishvat,” or “New Year of the Trees,” as they gather with their rabbis around a table in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak, Israel, on Jan. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Carlos Felice, a 37-year-old Venezuelan living in Panama, right, confesses to local Catholic priest Gabriel Agustin Guardia in an outdoor confessional at Omar Park in Panama City, ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to the Central American country, on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Native American protestors hold hands with parishioner Nathanial Hall, right, during a group prayer outside the Catholic Diocese of Covington on Jan. 22, 2019, in Covington, Ky. The diocese in Kentucky has apologized after videos emerged showing students from Covington Catholic High School mocking Native Americans outside the Lincoln Memorial after this year’s March for Life in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Nepalese Hindu women warm themselves around a bonfire after taking a dip in the Sali river during Madhav Narayan festival in Sankhu, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, on Jan. 21, 2019. During the festival, devotees recite holy scriptures dedicated to the Hindu goddess Swasthani and Lord Shiva. Unmarried women pray for husbands while those married pray for the longevity of their husbands while observing a month-long fast. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A World War II reenactor wearing a period uniform kneels among graves during a ceremony at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery commemorating the 75th anniversary of Allied forces’ landing on the shores of Anzio and Nettuno, in Nettuno, central Italy, on Jan. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A video of Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann, left, and Native American activist Nathan Phillips went viral after their encounter in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, 2019. The incident was hotly debated around the nation. Screenshot via YouTube.

A Hindu devotee carries a Kavadi offering cage in a procession during the Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Jan. 21, 2019. Thaipusam, honoring the Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)


Hooded youngsters carry a slaughtered pig to a church during Feast of Saint Anthony celebrations in the village of Ingooigem, Belgium, on Jan. 20, 2019. Local celebrations of Anthony, patron saint of animals, involve hooded 12-year-old youngsters and other children bringing killed hogs and small farm animals in a short procession to Saint Anthony Church to celebrate Mass. After the Mass, pigs are sold in a public auction while the offered farm animals are raffled among the people. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Nepalese Hindu devotees roll on the ground as part of a ritual during the Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on Jan. 24, 2019. During this festival, devotees recite holy scriptures dedicated to the Hindu goddess Swasthani and Lord Shiva. Unmarried women pray for a good husband while married women pray for the longevity of their husbands while observing a month-long fast. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Anti-abortion activists march toward the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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