(ANALYSIS) Earlier this year, “God Versus Aliens" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee, shines a light on the Vatican's secretive investigations into UFOs. It suggests, in no uncertain terms, that the Vatican has been quietly exploring extraterrestrial phenomena for years.
Read MoreZimbabwe’s Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre is home to 34 patients living with deadly diseases, such as AIDS, as well as mental and physical disabilities. The center is supported by the John Bradburne Memorial Society, founded in memory of the British-born missionary. Bradburne's legacy lives on in this embattled community to this day.
Read MoreThe Vatican’s doctrinal summit opened this week with one issue deemed to be out of bounds: female deacons. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernandez, the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the church was not “rushing” on the issue.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Shroud of Turin, the world’s most famous and most-examined artifact, is revered by devotees as the actual burial cloth that covered Jesus Christ’s body after his crucifixion. Many will consider that inconceivable, but is there reason to accept the claim? Or is this celebrated cloth merely a pious artwork, or a clever fraud, that originated in medieval times?
Read MoreIf you fly up to high altitude to study the past 50 years of American religious life, here is what you will see.
Read MoreA new survey of Catholics in the United States and across six Latin American countries found that majorities want the church to allow for the use of birth control and letting women become priests. The Pew Research Center study also found that public opinion was more divided on whether the church should allow priests to marry and the recognition of same-sex marriages.
Read MoreThe Vatican gave Catholics the green light to continue visiting the Bosnian village of Medjugorje, where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary some four decades ago. The Vatican's doctrinal office released a statement that fell short of declaring the apparitions “authentic” — but instead recognized the “positive fruits” for pilgrims stemming from the spiritual experience.
Read MoreJulia Hanlon Rubio begins her book, “Can You Be a Catholic and a Feminist?” with the conundrum that women are senators, Supreme Court justices, presidential candidates, world-class athletes, CEOs, professors and artists — yet how is it possible that the Catholic Church underutilizes women’s gifts?
Read MoreThe enduring presence and contribution of Christian schools across India, a majority Hindu nation, highlights their pivotal role in shaping the nation’s educational landscape. Despite facing challenges and opposition, these institutions continue to provide quality education to students from diverse backgrounds. Here's a look at the history of these schools and their enduring legacy to Indian society.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It was the kind of quote that, when said by the right person under the right conditions, would inspire bold headlines. “Your country ... has families with three, four or five children,” Pope Francis told President Joko Widodo of Indonesia. “Keep it up, you’re an example for everyone, for all the countries that maybe ... these families prefer to have a cat or a little dog instead of a child.”
Read MoreThe exemption, the appellate court affirmed, does not violate the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law or the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prohibits the government from establishing a particular religion.
Read MoreOne of the world’s most important newsrooms just offered a finely detailed profile of Catholic convert J.D. Vance and, imagine this, the feature focused on the emotions and ideas that led him to swim the Tiber. This included his intellectual and spiritual attraction to the work of St. Augustine, one of the most important minds in Western culture.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the heated environs of Catholic cyberspace, that kind of reporting being done by The Pillar has drawn fierce criticism from partisans on the other side of all doctrinal debates with political, moral and cultural implications. At the moment, The Pillar is taking heat from conservatives for coverage raising questions about remarks by Sen. J.D. Vance.
Read MorePope Francis delivered his first speech on Indonesian soil on Wednesday as he met with the country’s authorities, civil society, and diplomatic corps at the Istana Negara presidential palace in Jakarta. He was welcomed by President Joko Widodo, a crowd of Indonesian children waiving Vatican and Indonesian flags, and several members of the presidential guard.
Read MoreAs the rattle of gunfire and the spirited sloganeering raged on in the streets, Gen Zers opened a new theater in this fight: training their rage on the church for allegedly working with the state. They have accused church officials of being subservient to the political class.
Read More(ANALYSIS) These debates raged on and on because few combatants could agree on what took place, in part because that scene in the opening ceremonies were quickly removed from the official Olympics YouTube and NBC Universal accounts.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Catholic history is full of childless women respected for their work, many of them members of religious communities. They often contributed to lasting social and cultural change. In fact, the very existence of women’s religious communities is a testament to the value Catholicism puts on childless women’s lives.
Read MoreSplinter Catholic movements within Kenya have gradually found their voice in the country’s religious scene and have maintained a steady following despite strong opposition from conservative voices in the local Catholic Church. The rise of the breakaway Catholic churches traces its roots to the May 2006 wedding of ex-Catholic priest Godfrey Shiundu to a former nun.
Read MoreEquatorial Guinea has a history of infringing on religious freedom dating back to the 1950s. The country is at it again using legislation to forcefully close numerous churches and deny thousands the freedom to worship. Six Pentecostal and evangelical churches were shut down by the government last year alone due to their failure to abide by registration regulations.
Read MoreMore than two decades ago, a veteran Catholic priest and educator explained some ecclesiastical math to me. The late Father Donald Cozzens was talking about one of the biggest religion-news stories of the past half century — the growing shortage of priests at Catholic altars. To understand the problem, he said, you need to view it through the eyes of mothers and fathers.
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