News
Image via Matthew Barrick / Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception / RNS
“Mary believed that nothing is impossible with God,” Wuerl said in his homily. “She is the supreme model of what it means to believe.”
Image via LNP Media Group / RNS
The former disc jockey-turned-pastor founded Creation Festival in 1979 after he had a vision of “thousands of kids on a hillside,” he told RNS as the festival celebrated its 25th anniversary. It grew from attracting 5,000 people to a park in Lancaster, Pa., that first year, to annual, multi-day events in both Pennsylvania and Washington state.
Photo via Alaura Carter/Sojourners
During his time as administrator, Pruitt has met with several oil, gas, and other corporate entities in what he refers to as meeting with “stakeholders.” But many environmental leaders do not see his relationship with these corporations as innocent meeting, they believe he is interested in gaining their approval rather than dealing with environmental issues that many of these companies cause.
Image via Josep Casas / Flickr
Since the U.N. mission in Congo launched in 1999, almost 300 peacekeepers have been killed, with the presence of rebel groups becoming commonplace.
Former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager gestures as he testifies in his murder trial at the Charleston County court in Charleston, South Carolina, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Grace Beahm/Post and Courier/Pool/File Photo
On April 15, 2015, Slager tased and shot Scott five times in the back. A video from witness Feiden Santana surfaced, showing the fatal shooting.
U.S. President Donald Trump announces that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, during an address from the White House in Washington, U.S., December 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
"We ask from you Mr. President to help us all walk towards more love and a definitive peace, which cannot be reached without Jerusalem being for all. Our solemn advice and plea is for the United States to continue recognizing the present international status of Jerusalem. Any sudden changes would cause irreparable harm.”
Pope Francis shakes hands with Palestinian Minister Of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash during a private meeting at the Vatican December 6, 2017. Osservatore Romano/Handout via REUTERS
In response to Trump's announcement, patriarchs and heads of all churches in Jerusalem urged Trump to reconsider his decision to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reiterating deep concerns of potentially escalating conflicts in a region sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians.
The cover and interior spreads of TIME's Person of the Year issue features many of the women who have brought the #MeToo movement to the fore — from Tarana Burke, who launched the hashtag 10 years ago, to Alyssa Milano, whose tweet earlier this year brought outan avalance of revelations that have led to the downfall of countless men in power.
Palestinians walk past a mural depicting President Donald Trump in the West Bank city of Bethlehem Dec. 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
President Donald Trump will announce on Wednesday that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, breaking with longtime U.S. policy and potentially stirring unrest.
Image courtesy Alicia Baker.
The rules, a direct rollback of the ACA’s contraceptive coverage mandate requiring access to birth control without additional cost, are considered a fulfillment of a promise Trump made to the religious community at a speech in the Rose Garden five months earlier, stating, "We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied, or silenced anymore." But one of his biggest opponents is an evangelical Christian.
Image via Shutterstock
“We can’t take for granted what ‘religious freedom’ is and what it protects,” says Wenger. “White American Christians [have] used religious freedom talk as a way to mark their own superiority” and control the legal, political and social culture.
Image via JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS
“Today’s abnegation by the nation’s highest court opens the door for an onslaught of challenges to the rights of LGBTQ people at every step," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the civil rights group GLAAD, said in a statement.
Image via Bekah Fulton/Sojourners
Faith and civil rights leaders from across the country gathered in front of the Supreme Court today in support of Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins — the couple at the center of the Masterpiece vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case.
Image via New Mexico Wildlife Federation / RNS
“However, we are resilient and refuse to allow President Trump’s unlawful decision to discourage us. We will continue to fight in honor of our ancestral warriors who fought for our way of life, for our culture and for our land too.
As Congress faces a Friday deadline to fund the government, some Senate Democrats are considering blocking the spending bill unless Republicans agree to a bipartisan Dream Act, which would grant conditional residency to immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children and meet several other requirements. The Trump administration ended the Obama-era executive program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, in September, putting the decision to protect the 800,000 immigrants under the program in the hands of Congress. To encourage their lawmakers, many Dreamers and supporters are bringing the dreams of those awaiting a clean Dream Act straight to the Capitol.
Relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings show portraits of their loved ones during a Catholic mass against drug war killings at the Edsa Shrine in Pasig, metro Manila, Philippines November 5, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao
The killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos in August sparked a national outcry. Police claimed Kian had been shot in self-defence, but CCTV footage and eyewitness testimony showed how plainclothes officers dragged away the unarmed teenager and shot him dead in an alleyway.
Image via Fredrick Nzwili / RNS
AIDS killed his wife in 2013, and his 13-year-old daughter the next year. And when his flock found out that Mutuse himself tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, many abandoned him — and some thought his diagnosis justified the burning of his church.
A demonstrator holds a sign outside the U.S. Capitol to protest the Republican tax plan as it works through the Senate in Washington Nov. 30, 2017. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
The U.S. Senate on Thursday delayed voting on a Republicantax overhaul as the bill was tripped up by problems with an amendment sought by fiscal hawks to address a large expansion of the federal budget deficit projected to result from the measure.
Image via Chris Mathews / RNS
The Disaster Recovery Reform Act, also known as H.R. 4460, was approved on Nov. 30 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and will next move to the House floor for deliberation.
The bill received strong support from both sides of the aisle despite objections that using taxpayer funds to rebuild houses of worship would violate the separation of church and state. Proponents of the measure argue that religious groups, which are often at the forefront of disaster relief efforts, are being unfairly disadvantaged.
Photo via Sharon Samber/RNS
The retweets, sent to his more than 43 million followers, showcased three videos originally tweeted from the account of the deputy leader of a British anti-immigrant fringe group, Britain First. The group is considered anti-Muslim by many in the country, and its name was shouted by an extremist who gunned down and stabbed a member of Parliament earlier this year. The group condemned the murder.