News
Biden administration slaps sanctions on China over Uyghur Muslim persecution
By Yonat Shimron — December 16, 2021
(RNS) — The new sanctions will bar Chinese companies from trading or exchanging biotechnology or surveillance products with the United States.
Second ‘George Floyd’ Pietà stolen from Catholic University
By Jack Jenkins — December 16, 2021
(RNS) — A spokesperson confirmed the painting, which uses an artistic style known as a Pietà to depict a Black Virgin Mary cradling Jesus’ body after his Crucifixion, was stolen on Sunday.
Can Pope Francis make real change for women? Vatican women leaders assess his chances
By Claire Giangravé — December 16, 2021
(RNS) — A group of women who occupy positions of leadership in the church advocated for the promotion of more female theologians, canon lawyers and other leaders.
Kansas camel escapes Nativity scene, latest in series of camel mishaps
By Joseph Hammond — December 16, 2021
(RNS) — At one point Bonner Springs Police Department pursued the camel on golf carts after it strayed onto a golf course.
At the other Mars Hill church, new co-pastors hope to build a faithful future
By Bob Smietana — December 16, 2021
(RNS) — Ashlee Eiland, who is Black, and Troy Hatfield, who is white, are a rare combination — co-pastors at an evangelical church, who are from different ethnic backgrounds and not married to each other.
In Kashmir, closed mosque belies India’s religious freedom
By Aijaz Hussain — December 16, 2021
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian authorities see the mosque as a trouble spot — a nerve center for protests and clashes that challenge India's sovereignty over the disputed Kashmir region.
Two awarded top bravery honor in New Zealand mosque attack
By Nick Perry — December 16, 2021
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Both men are credited with helping save others in the 2019 attack at two Christchurch mosques in which 51 people were killed.
In tornado’s wake, a church and pastor turn to God, service
By Holly Meyer — December 16, 2021
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Despite suffering damage to their own church buildings, First Baptist staff and volunteers mobilized to provide whatever they can to help survivors cope with the disaster's aftermath
There are no African American saints. A lay Catholic group seeks to change that.
By Alejandra Molina — December 15, 2021
(RNS) — ‘It is embarrassing to many of us that in the church where we worship, there are no United States African American saints recognized by the highest church authorities.’
New documentary ‘Daughters of Eve’ imagines a Bible, and world, with women at the center
By Kathryn Post — December 15, 2021
(RNS) — The documentary invites Christians to reevaluate their beliefs about women's place in the Bible and the world.
Pope’s missing apology adds to ‘lack of trust’ from Indigenous people in Canada
By Claire Giangravé — December 15, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Suspicion and lack of trust mark the relationship between the Catholic Church and Indigenous peoples in Canada as Pope Francis considers visiting the country.
House responds to GOP’s Boebert with Islamophobia bill
By Lisa Mascaro — December 15, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — Boebert had derided Omar during a House floor debate last month, taunting the Somali-born, Muslim-American immigrant as a member of the “jihad squad” of liberal lawmakers.
As Jews pray on Temple Mount, status quo in Jerusalem’s holiest site begins to shift
By Eetta Prince-Gibson — December 15, 2021
(RNS) — A group that advocates for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount reported that more than 10,000 Jewish worshippers had visited it between September and November in violation of an agreement between Israel and Jordan — an increase of 80% compared with recent years.
Poll: America growing more secular by the year
By Yonat Shimron — December 14, 2021
(RNS) — Just 63% of Americans self-identified as Christian this year, a marked drop from 75% a decade ago.
Half a century since its closure, Turkey’s Orthodox Christians still pine for their seminary
By David I. Klein — December 14, 2021
(RNS) — The Halki seminary, whose graduates include at least two saints, seven patriarchs, seven archbishops and six metropolitans, has become an international bargaining chip.
