U.S.

New documentary tells the story of queer religious families in the Midwest
By Fiona André — December 4, 2023
(RNS) — The movie profiles queer families and individuals living in the Midwest, grappling with their identity in a conservative and traditional environment.

On urgent issues, US Catholic bishops should follow the pope’s lead
By Mark Silk — December 4, 2023
(RNS) — Catching up with Francis on climate as well as democracy.

Pilgrims yearn to visit isolated peninsula where Catholic saints cared for Hawaii’s leprosy patients
By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher — December 4, 2023
KALAUPAPA, Hawaii (AP) — The pilgrimage to Kalaupapa is logistically challenging to make under normal circumstances. It is even more so today because of lingering COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims
By Jason Dearen and Michael Rezendes — December 4, 2023
HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — Nondisclosure agreements have been used frequently by the Mormon church and other organizations to keep sex abuse allegations secret.

This Christmas, churches are preparing for a frenzy of festivity
By Fiona André — December 1, 2023
(RNS) — You think you have a busy Christmas? The country's best-attended churches are managing a crush of Masses this year.

William Wilberforce would be scandalized by the pro-factory farming EATS Act
By Charles C. Camosy — December 1, 2023
(RNS) — It's a diabolical end-run around laws that attempt to respect God’s created order.

US prosecutors say plots to assassinate Sikh leaders were part of a campaign of planned killings
By Larry Neumeister — December 1, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — The attack plans were foiled, prosecutors said, because the hitman was actually an undercover U.S. agent.

What to know about the Sikh independence movement following US accusation that activist was targeted
By Sheikh Saaliq — December 1, 2023
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Sikh independence movement eventually became a bloody armed insurgency that shook India in the 1970s and 1980s.R

Pilgrims yearn to visit isolated peninsula where Catholic saints cared for Hawaii’s leprosy patients
By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher — December 1, 2023
KALAUPAPA, Hawaii (AP) — The pilgrimage to Kalaupapa, defined by its natural isolation in northern Molokai, is logistically challenging and restricted under normal circumstances.

Influential Detroit pastor the Rev. Charles Gilchrist Adams dies at age 86
By Associated Press — December 1, 2023
DETROIT (AP) — Adams spent a half-century as pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church before retiring in 2019.

Cardinal Tobin: Faith leaders can influence the world on climate change
By Joseph W. Tobin — November 30, 2023
(RNS) — We must align our spiritual values with our actions toward the planet and each other.

What to know about Hanukkah and how it’s celebrated around the world
By Giovanna Dell'orto — November 30, 2023
(AP) — On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah — a multibranched candelabra.

In the US, Black survivors are nearly invisible in the Catholic clergy sexual abuse crisis
By Lea Skene and Tiffany Stanley — November 30, 2023
BALTIMORE (AP) — Cases of clergy abuse among African Americans are underreported, experts say, and the U.S. Catholic Church generally does not publicly track the race or ethnicity of victims.

Opposing communities plan separate memorial services for Carlton Pearson
By Adelle M. Banks — November 29, 2023
(RNS) — ‘I want to show diversity,’ Pearson said in a recording near the end of his life, which has ended up being shown through the range of services.

Poll: Less than half of Jewish college students feel safe on campus
By Yonat Shimron — November 29, 2023
(RNS) — The poll of 3,084 American college students, of whom 527 were Jewish, comes amid an alarming rise in incidents of both antisemitism and Islamophobia as Israel and Hamas wage war.