Top Story
Pope Francis calls for ‘all-out battle’ against child sex abuse
By Jack Jenkins — February 24, 2019
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis referred to clerics who abuse children as 'tools of Satan.'
At Vatican summit, talk of destroyed files riles bishops’ critics
By Jack Jenkins — February 23, 2019
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — 'The Vatican may destroy documents, may restrict our access for justice, but … we are the evidence of the abuse,' said an advocate for abuse survivors.
Photos of the Week
By Kit Doyle — February 22, 2019
(RNS) — This week’s gallery includes Catholic and Baptist clergy sexual abuse issues, the end of the Lunar New Year, and more.
Religion or remembrance? Supreme Court to mull cross-shaped war memorial
By Adelle M. Banks — February 22, 2019
BLADENSBURG, Md. (RNS) — The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision and ruled that the monument had 'the primary effect of endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion.'
Pope demands ‘concrete’ response to abuse crisis at Vatican summit
By Jack Jenkins — February 21, 2019
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The challenge for the nearly 200 assembled clerics at the Vatican this week is to find concrete measures that the global church can agree on — and that will satisfy abuse victims.
Hindu monastic order is reclaiming transgender people’s status in Indian society
By Soumya Shankar — February 20, 2019
PRAYAGRAJ, India (RNS) — A reality TV star-turned-transgender activist is using the ancient Hindu tradition of akharas to go beyond activism's limits to change religious attitudes toward her community.
British inquiry into church sexual abuse blasts UK’s papal nuncio
By Catherine Pepinster — February 19, 2019
LONDON — A face-off between Britain's papal nuncio and government panel on child sexual abuse is not the first time Vatican diplomats have clashed with their hosts' prosecutors.
Southern Baptists should investigate churches that cover up abuse, says SBC president
By Bob Smietana — February 18, 2019
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — While blaming the abusers, SBC President J.D. Greear called on the convention as a whole 'to repent of a culture that has made abuse, cover-ups, and evading accountability far too easy.'
Kenyan United Methodists oppose allowing LGBT clergy, pray for church unity worldwide
By Tonny Onyulo — February 18, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — United Methodist bishops in Africa want to keep the denomination's ban of LGBT clergy in place. But they also want the United Methodist Church to stay together no matter what happens at the upcoming General Conference in St. Louis. Delegates at that meeting will discuss possible changes to the denomination's rules.
Vatican defrocks former US Cardinal McCarrick over sex abuse
By Nicole Winfield — February 16, 2019
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has defrocked former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after Vatican officials found him guilty of soliciting for sex while hearing confession and sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Holy See said Saturday (Feb. 16). McCarrick, 88, is the highest-ranking churchman to be laicized, as the process is called. It […]
Photos of the Week
By Kit Doyle — February 15, 2019
(RNS) — This week’s gallery includes Valentine's Day festivities, the first anniversary of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and more.
Historic United Methodist church sees ‘hopeful’ time for LGBTQ Christians
By Emily McFarlan Miller — February 15, 2019
CHICAGO (RNS) — LGBTQ-affirming United Methodists are split over which proposed plan to support at the denomination's special session — and what they'll do if a plan passes that strengthens rules against the full inclusion of LGBTQ people.
Julián Castro opens his presidential bid with a Catholicism aimed at Latino vote
By Jack Jenkins — February 14, 2019
(RNS) — 'I wanted my announcement to present to the American people who I am, and my family and I have been Catholic for generations,' Castro said.
Why some young Muslim women are leaning into arranged marriages
By Aysha Khan — February 13, 2019
(RNS) — Halal dating apps are gaining traction among young Muslims. But dating often comes with its own set of headaches, so many young Muslim women say they are bypassing the drama by leaning into their family’s traditions of arranged marriage.
James MacDonald fired as Harvest Bible Chapel pastor
By Bob Smietana and Emily McFarlan Miller — February 13, 2019
(RNS) — Elders announced that the church founder was fired for 'engaging in conduct that the Elders believe is contrary and harmful to the best interests of the church.'