Luis Andres Henao
Luis Andres Henao is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Luis Andres Henao
US houses of worship increase security after shootings
By Luis Andres Henao and Deepa Bharath — July 19, 2022
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Past attacks on houses of worship and other public spaces have prompted faith leaders to evaluate — sometimes for the first time — if there is more that can be done to keep their flocks safe.
LGBTQ youth of faith retell their stories to inspire others
By Luis Andres Henao — June 27, 2022
(AP) — 'I want to show that these identities aren’t a contradiction and for younger people to know that there’s hope,' said Hodak, who in addition to Beloved Arise belongs to another group, Jewish Queer Youth.
Holy days converging in April spark interfaith celebrations
By Luis Andres Henao — April 18, 2022
(AP) — In addition to Passover, Easter and Ramadan, holy days occurring in April this year include the Sikhs' and Hindus' Vaisakhi, the Jains' Mahavir Jayanti, the Baha’i festival of Ridvan, and the Theravada Buddhist New Year.
Across US, faith groups mobilize to aid Ukrainian refugees
By Luis Andres Henao and Deepa Bharath — April 5, 2022
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In Southern California, pastors and lay individuals are stationing themselves at the Mexico border waving Ukrainian flags and offering food, water and prayer.
Ukrainian spiritual and diplomatic leaders urge aid, weapons
By Luis Andres Henao — March 16, 2022
(AP) — “What good is it if you feed the stomachs of these children, these women, these people in cities, if their brains are going to be blown out, if their apartment buildings are going to be rendered into rubble?” said the Most Rev. Borys Gudziak.
Yeshiva University basketball team ends unforgettable era
By Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski — March 10, 2022
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — In the locker room after the game, some players — and even their usually stoic coach — choked back tears.
Priest’s new assignment: Helping those he invalidly baptized
By Jacques Billeaud and Luis Andres Henao — February 26, 2022
PHOENIX (AP) —Church officials estimate Rev. Andrés Arango performed thousands of baptisms that are now presumed invalid and said those affected now need valid baptisms.
Enrollment in US Catholic schools rebounds after sharp drop
By Luis Andres Henao — February 15, 2022
(AP) — This is the first increase in two decades and the largest jump in at least five decades.
Faith in the metaverse: A VR quest for community, fellowship
By Luis Andres Henao — January 31, 2022
(AP) — Many Americans — some traditionally religious, some religiously unaffiliated — are increasingly communing spiritually through virtual reality, one of the many evolving spaces in the metaverse that have grown in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.
A gift of Christmas joy for the children of the incarcerated
By Luis Andres Henao and Mariam Fam — December 23, 2021
(AP) — One program works with prison chaplains to reach inmates interested in sending gifts to their children.
Rastafari want more legal marijuana for freedom of worship
By Luis Andres Henao and Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu — December 10, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — For Rastafari, the ritualistic smoking of marijuana brings them closer to the divine. But for decades, many have been incarcerated because of their use of cannabis.
In Buddhism, women blaze a path but strive for gender equity
By Luis Andres Henao — December 9, 2021
(AP) — As Buddhism has grown in the West and Asian Buddhist societies have been influenced by feminism, there’s more awareness of the importance of women’s leadership.
Faith groups increasingly join fight against climate change
By Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski — November 2, 2021
POINTE-AUX-CHENES, Louisiana (AP) — On a boat ride along a bayou that shares the name of his Native American tribe, Donald Dardar points to a cross marking his ancestors’ south Louisiana burial ground — a place he fears will disappear. He points to the partly submerged stumps of oak trees killed by salt water on […]
Two decades after 9/11, Muslim Americans still fighting bias
By Luis Andres Henao, Mariam Fam, and Deepti Hajela — September 7, 2021
NEW YORK (AP) — As young American Muslims grew up under the shadow of 9/11, they faced hostility and surveillance, mistrust and suspicion, questions about their Muslim faith and doubts over their Americanness.
For US teen Buddhist lama, it’s faith, school, football
By Luis Andres Henao — August 2, 2021
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — Jalue Dorje, 14, has spent much of his life training to become a monk, memorizing sacred scriptures, practicing calligraphy and learning the teachings of Buddha.
