While the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (based on several factors) held steady in 2022 at 3.0 out of 10, the number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government religious restrictions rose to 59, which accounts for 30% of the 198 countries and territories Pew Research Center studied.
Read MoreTen Catholic priests and a seminarian were murdered during the six-year term of former Mexican President López Obrador that ended Sept. 30, the Catholic Multimedia Center said in its 2024 annual report.
Read MoreFaith leaders called on President Joe Biden on Monday to commute all federal death row sentences before President-elect Donald Trump, who supports capital punishment, takes office next month. The group — which includes Black pastors, Catholics, former corrections officials, civil rights advocates, current and former prosecutors — reflects bipartisan concern about the use of capital punishment.
Read MoreLine of Fire radio program host Michael Brown has agreed to a third-party investigation after allegations of sexual impropriety surfaced this week. He acknowledged a “lack of judgment,” but denied any sexual misconduct.
Read More(OPINION) A thorough analysis of the autopsy reports for the 10 Kuki-Zo “village volunteers” killed in Manipur during an alleged gunbattle with the Central Reserve Police Force suggests that the young men were shot from behind or from multiple directions and at close range. Some of them also sustained injuries that cannot solely be attributed to gunfire.
Read MoreThe autopsy reports reveal that each of the deceased sustained multiple gunshot wounds from behind. This pattern of injury indicates that the young men were either fleeing or not directly engaging at the time they were fatally shot.
Read MoreA former student who suffered severe injuries at Asbury University in Kentucky last year has filed a lawsuit for negligence, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Isabella Willingham was found unconscious in her room in November 2023 with cuts, bruises and other injuries.
Read MoreThe site of the deadliest church shooting in the nation no longer stands, as First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs moved forward this week with a 2021 decision to demolish its former sanctuary. Church members voted 69-35 to demolish the Texas sanctuary after a gunman killed 25 there in November 2017, including a pregnant woman, and injured 20 others before killing himself.
Read More(REVIEW) “Sing Sing” — the latest film from celebrated independent film studio A24 — tells the story of Divine G, imprisoned at a maximum security prison (Sing Sing) for a crime he didn't commit. He finds purpose by acting in a theater group alongside other incarcerated men. The film is based on the book, “The Sing Sing Follies,” which tells the true story of Divine G and the theater program he founded while incarcerated.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When members of the Society of Jesus gather at Borgo Santo Spirito, their headquarters near the Vatican, they worship surrounded by the relics of Jesuit saints and works of sacred art. This includes the work of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, who the Jesuits expelled last year after investigations into allegations he sexually and emotionally abused up to 30 women in religious orders. The Vatican had excommunicated the priest in 2020, but quickly withdrew that judgment.
Read MoreAs a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP), First Baptist Naples at least annually conducts mandatory training for all church employees, requires background checks and screenings for all staff and volunteers – with periodic updates, provides sexual abuse prevention resources and conducts a counseling ministry.
Read MoreThe murder last month of a Catholic priest is the latest in a spate of attacks against Christian clerics. Overall, South Africa’s crime rate has spiked to its highest levels in two decades. At the same time, many see these recent attacks against clerics as an infringement on their religious freedom to worship since Christians are increasingly fearful of going to church as a result of the increased violence.
Read MoreChristian women wrongfully imprisoned in Nicaragua have been beaten and denied time outdoors for praying aloud with rosaries, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported on March 6.
Read MoreThe founder of the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and prison reentry program in the world is a mystic, a Jesuit priest who does not believe that God has a plan for your life. Having buried 260 young men and women, Father Greg Boyle rejects the idea that it is God’s plan that anyone should die of a gang member’s bullet.
Read MoreTwenty-five years ago, a college junior was raped and murdered. Her parents found peace by sharing Jesus with the men responsible.
Read MoreRisco Mention-Lewis is leading a community policing initiative in New York’s Suffolk County that heals trauma and invests in people. Her approach reflects her divine inspiration.
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