Hundreds of thousands of believers in the tiny Balkan country have been protesting a new law that would allow the government to take possession of property from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
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The chocolates resemble the pilgrimage site in Lourdes, France where St. Bernadette is believed to have first seen the Virgin Mary on this day 162 years ago.
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(NEWS ANALYSIS) At the launch on Wednesday, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the ever-growing need to combat the increasing violence based on religion or belief, including “terrorists and violent extremists who target religious minorities, whether they are Yazidis in Iraq, Hindus in Pakistan, Christians in northeast Nigeria, or Muslims in Burma” and “the Chinese Communist Party’s hostility to all faiths.”
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(OPINION) Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks urged religious and political leaders to understand how current trends feed the scapegoating of a people who have endured persecution throughout history.
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(NEWS ANALYSIS) The conviction in the UK of a gay serial rapist from Indonesia is fueling debates in the Muslim-majority country of whether rape is a symptom of homosexuality. While homosexuality is not a crime in Indonesia, the largest Muslim organizations have been advocating to criminalize gay sexual activities.
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(OPINION) Social media is forcing a global reckoning over disinformation. Narratives that deny or distort Holocaust history represent some of the gravest consequences of allowing “alternative history” to take root.
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(OPINION) There’s an ongoing debate between historians. Can civilizations be restored? Or do they invariably die? Oswald Spengler, a German historian, said all civilizations are born, grow, and then age, decline and die. No exceptions. Arnold Toynbee disagreed. Civilizations have a spiritual dimension. They can be restored. But only a creative minority can do it.
Read MoreBefore it was a place of horror and destruction, Auschwitz was a town where Catholics and Jews lived together in harmony.
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(OPINION) This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day aims to reflect the “continued importance of collective action against antisemitism and other forms of bias to ensure respect for the dignity and human rights of all people everywhere.”
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(REVIEW) Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the film Holy Silence focuses on the pontificate of Pius XII and whether the pope did enough to help Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II.
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(OPINION) Walking part of a medieval pilgrimage route alone along the northern coast of Spain taught me self-sufficiency and how to be fully present.
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(REVIEW) There is a Hollywood fascination with all that’s morbid about religion. It has traditionally had a profane approach when it comes to the Catholic church. That it loves to dramatize reality into what can sometimes be an ugly trope, this is exactly what we get with HBO’s new TV mini-series.
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(OPINION) Arguments got heated and continued at a slow burn. One commentator even wrote to the Vatican requesting information about a ceremonial plant in a bowl.
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Retired Pope Benedict XVI issued a strongly-worded defense for priestly celibacy — countering his successor Pope Francis who’s been considering allowing married men to be ordained in the Amazon to deal with a shortage in that part of the world.
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The Travels of Guðríður Símonardóttir tells the little-known story of an Icelandic woman in the 17th century who was captured by North African pirates. She was enslaved at a harem in Algiers until ransomed, then married Iceland’s most famous poet. His hymns, inspired by the couple’s suffering, are still sung in churches and at funerals.
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(OPINION) The media’s reaction to the slap, from social media to major news organizations, again showed the divide that continues to exist among Catholics around the world. Those who like Francis saw a man being grabbed and reacting like anyone would. His detractors saw a man with little patience for parishioners.
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Crowds of Romanians gathered on the coast of the Black Sea to watch priests bless holy water and throw three crosses into the water, representing God in the trinity of father, son and holy spirit. Then the race in near-freezing water began to retrieve a cross, believed to bring its owner blessings in the new year.
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The Media Project staff, board and members worldwide submitted nominations for the best efforts in religion journalism that we admired most in 2019.
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(OPINION) This time of year brings with it pieces looking back on the biggest stories of the year. It’s also a time to look ahead. The coming year will certainly be a busy one once again for journalists who cover Catholicism, Pope Francis and the church’s hierarchy.
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(OPINION) Some observers anticipate a breakup of the United Kingdom once it leaves the European Union. There are a few scenarios that could play out for the nation’s churches if that happens.
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