Russia’s National Guard seized two priests in Russian-occupied Berdyansk on Nov. 16. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Donetsk Exarchate denies Russian claims that Father Ivan Levytsky and Father Bohdan Heleta stored explosives in the church and had “extremist” literature.
Read MoreA new statue in London’s iconic Trafalgar Square has sparked an unlikely controversy. At center stage is the life of Baptist preacher and Malawian national hero John Chilembwe. He was killed leading a rebellion against British colonial authorities during World War I.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Eighty years ago, in November 1942, the Nazis occupied Tunisia. For the next six months, Tunisian Jews and Muslims were subjected to the Third Reich’s reign of terror, as well as its antisemitic and racist legislation. Residents lived in fear – “under the Nazi boot,” as Tunisian Jewish lawyer Paul Ghez wrote in his diary during the occupation.
Read MoreZurich, Switzerland, a hub of the Protestant Reformation — where minister Ulrich Zwingli condoned the eating of sausages during Lent in defiance of the Catholic Church — is losing its faith. Less than half of Switzerland’s 8.7 million souls identify as Catholic or Protestant, according to government figures.
Read MoreU.S. Army Chaplain Frederick A. McDonald collected shards of glass from broken stained glass windows of synagogues, churches and chapels across Europe during World War II. Those fragments are now part of an art exhibit called “Remembered Light: Glass Fragments from World War II, The McDonald Windows” on display in San Francisco’s Veterans Building through Nov. 20.
Read MoreThe Argentina versus England quarterfinal matchup at the 1986 World Cup will forever be remembered as the game where Diego Maradona scored twice, one of them a controversial goal he later dubbed the “Hand of God.” The game, a mix of political tension and faith, cemented Maradona’s place as one of soccer’s greatest players.
Read More(OPINION) Ten months of Putin’s war in Ukraine have seen a litany of atrocities including summary executions, unlawful confinement, torture, ill-treatment, rape and other sexual violence, forced displacement of people, removal of children and illegal adoptions, among others. Over recent months, yet another aspect of the atrocities came into the spotlight, the issue of the so-called filtration camps.
Read MoreRod Dreher, a senior editor and blogger at The American Conservative and a convert to Orthodox Christianity from Catholicism is one of the most influential voices in the conservative movement who has moved further right in recent years and argued for Americans to look to nationalist examples in Europe, like Victor Orban’s Hungary, for solutions.
Read More(OPINION) After the historically brief leadership of Britain's Liz Truss, Conservative Party members of Parliament this week agreed on Rishi Sunak, a Hindu, to succeed her as prime minister at a moment of severe economic and political turmoil.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis decided to divide the church’s Synod of Bishops into two sessions, one next October and a second in October 2024, in order to “help everyone to live it as the journey of brothers and sisters who proclaim the joy of the Gospel.” What does it mean for the future of Catholicism?
Read MoreYes, God loves Russians, Sorina Vintila told Zahar, a five-year-old Ukrainian refugee and his classmates. But “God doesn’t like when we are doing bad things. It makes him sad. God wants us to listen and obey him, just as Samuel did.”
Read More(REVIEW) Historian John McGreevy’s new book “Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis,” covering a period of 230 years, can only be defined as ambitious. Extremely well researched and skillfully put together, McGreevy’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in the planet’s largest Christian denomination.
Read MoreTenzin Peljor runs a popular Buddhist blog that addresses controversies in Tibetan Buddhism, especially regarding abusive spiritual teachers. After choosing a guru, students take vows to see their teacher as an enlightened being — questioning or criticizing them can send one to a Tantric hell. Peljor, a monk himself, says he is exposing harmful practices while remaining faithful to the Buddhist tradition.
Read MoreChurch members and relatives in Ukraine have been unable to find out who is holding Council of Churches Baptist Pastor Leonid Ponomaryov and his wife Tatyana, where and why. Armed and masked men in military uniform seized them on Sept. 21 from their home in Russian-occupied Mariupol. Neighbors “distinctly heard groans and cries” as the masked men took them away “in an unknown direction,” local Baptists said.
Read MoreThree members of a Church of Christ in Belgrade, Serbia, are recovering from stab wounds inflicted by a fellow church member just before Sunday worship. Meanwhile, the congregation has endured unwanted media attention and accusations of manipulation, alcoholism and operating without a license.
Read MoreItalians will vote in national elections on Sunday. If polls are correct, then history could be made once the votes are counted. Giorgia Meloni, who heads the Brothers of Italy party, could become the country’s first female prime minister since the nation became a republic in 1946. Here’s everything you need to know about her faith and politics.
Read More(OPINION) While the queen delivered thousands of public addresses, her Christmas talks — surrounded by family pictures and holiday decorations — were the occasions when she most openly discussed her faith and the challenges facing the nation and even her own family.
Read More(OPINION) Britain’s monarchy stands as the world’s only remaining state religious institution. The coronation is more than “mainly a religious ceremony” according to the BBC’s anchor on Saturday, as if that remaindered it for everyone not religious. It is a symbol among much else of the world’s oldest and only global narrative: God’s story.
Read More(REVIEW) Valentina Pedicini’s documentary “Faith” spends time in a sect of Christianity called the Warriors of Light, composed of former martial arts champions who live ascetic lives and train daily to fight in a coming spiritual battle. The documentary focuses on why people have faith and what sustains it.
Read More(ANALYSIS) About one-fifth of current French prisoners were convicted for drug offenses, according to the French Ministry of Justice — a rate comparable to that of the United States. Nearly all of them are men. There is no demographic breakdown of this population, because the French credo of “absolute equality” among citizens has made it illegal since 1978 to collect statistics based on race, ethnicity or religion.
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