Christianity
Ukrainians celebrate Palm Sunday in church marred by dispute
By Samya Kullab — April 10, 2023
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians marked Palm Sunday in the country’s most revered Orthodox site that has been at the heart of a religious dispute playing out in parallel with Russia's war on Ukraine.
Francis focuses Easter message on hope, with prayers for an end to global conflicts
By Junno Arocho Esteves — April 9, 2023
ROME (RNS) — The proclamation that Christ is 'truly risen' is a reminder that 'our hope is not an illusion, but the truth,' the pope said.
Pope Francis skips Good Friday at Colosseum in chilly Rome
By Associated Press — April 8, 2023
ROME (AP) — It was the first time a pontiff was a no-show at the Colosseum Way of the Cross procession since 2005, when Pope John Paul II's health was in decline.
Mormons have discovered Holy Week. Why now?
By Jana Riess — April 8, 2023
(RNS) — Here's hoping that embracing Easter isn't merely a 'we’re not weird, please like us' campaign.
LGBTQ group condemns Point Loma Nazarene University for theology dean’s dismissal
By Alejandra Molina — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — The university denies charges by Lauren Cazares, founder of Loma LGBTQIA+ Alumni & Allies Coalition, that the dean of the school of theology was terminated for 'anything related to the LGBTQIA+ community.'
After biblical protestations, expelled Tennessee lawmakers find support among clergy
By Bob Smietana and Jack Jenkins — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — On Friday, the Poor People's Campaign announced a clergy-led protest to be held in Nashville later this month.
Judge denies most claims against Seattle Pacific University board
By Yonat Shimron — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — Twelve students and faculty sued four members of the university’s board of trustees for refusing to scrap an employment policy that bars the hiring of people in same-sex relationships.
What the Tennessee GOP did is legislative terrorism
By Jemar Tisby — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — Expelling two young Black lawmakers was intended to instill fear, but it backfired.
Guess who’s coming to Easter dinner?
By Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr., Fanhao Nie, Leah Payne, and Tarah Williams — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — The religiously unaffiliated celebrate Easter more widely than you'd think.
Good Friday and the ‘discipline of staying’
By Adam Bucko — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — To grasp Good Friday is to let go of our self-agency and lay our strengths at the foot of the cross.
Nailed to a cross, Filipino prays for Ukraine war to end
By Jim Gomez — April 7, 2023
SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines (AP) — Eight Filipinos were nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that draws thousands of devotees and tourists to the Philippines despite being rejected by the Catholic church.
Vatican prosecutors to meet with brother of teenage girl who vanished in the 1980s
By Junno Arocho Esteves — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — Interest in the case was reignited by an October 2022 Netflix documentary, 'Vatican Girl,' featuring new testimony from a friend of the missing teen claiming she had revealed that a high-ranking Vatican clergyman had made unwanted sexual advances.
Adult egg hunts and kiddie pools full of gifts: Is Easter the new Christmas?
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 7, 2023
(RNS) — At a time when fewer people are going to church, events like the Adult Eggstravaganza Egg Hunt hosted by the Itasca Park District and Village of Itasca are taking off.
Resurrection drug? FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan amid opioid crisis
By Kathryn Post — April 6, 2023
(RNS) — ‘I’m afraid that we’re not to a resurrection era for people who use drugs,’ said one harm reduction advocate.
What the Catholic Church could learn about Good Friday from ‘Parade’
By Jim McDermott — April 6, 2023
(RNS) — How can we complicate our understanding of the Passion narrative of the Gospel of John to defuse its antisemitism?
