Religion News Service

Francis did the right thing in allowing priests to call God's blessing down on couples who are trying to love in the best way they know how. That may be different in the West than it is in Africa.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a $1 million grant to leaders of the Church of God in Christ as part of a national program to plant and maintain trees in American cities. Vilsack said 'structuring this program so that it's empowering more tree planting and more workforce development gives us the opportunity to partner with the church.'

The Indigenous population sees lithium extraction as a disruption of their ancient relationship with the mountains that surround their homes, which they hold as sacred.

The American temptation is to rush the process. We tend to focus on what we individually want to say rather than patiently listening to the Spirit as expressed by others.

Instead of forcing Congress to do nothing, a conclave would force members of Congress to do their job.

Over two decades since DreamWorks' widely acclaimed 1998 animated movie "The Prince of Egypt" wooed religious and nonreligious viewers alike, a live-action staged version debuted on streaming platforms in December.

Through the power of friendship, prayer and cheerful determination, Richard Parks and his neighbors faced down a major oil company to shutter a nearly 60-year-old drill site in the middle of the neighborhood. Now they hope to build a community park and affordable housing in its place.

"There are too many hurting people frightened today," writes Phyllis Zagano. "Can we not quietly and with respect focus on their needs and discard the noise and disrespect that fuels the wars large and small?" 

The coming of Christ tells us our God is loving and merciful, but also challenging. He comforts but also gives us a mission: "Comfort, give comfort to my people," says the Lord.

Majority Latino congregations report growth and stability in attendance and, on average, have younger participants, a sharp contrast to the declining attendance and aging congregations in most churches in the United States.

The case for removing Cardinal Raymond Burke, a Vatican official, is simple. The case for firing Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland is more complicated. Removing a diocesan bishop should remain a rare exception. 

Christians who share the vision of Pope Francis and William Wilberforce should oppose the EATS Act as a diabolical end-run around laws that attempt to respect God's created order.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin: We must align our spiritual values with our actions toward the planet and each other.

Pope Francis' opening to women in church management is promising. Getting women into the sacristy is trickier.

Pope Francis is set to speak at the inauguration of the first-ever "Faith Pavilion" during the upcoming 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates.

Over the past decades, many Chicana artists have used Guadalupe to emphasize issues of justice around immigration.

If we listen only to what the media has written about the synod on synodality, we might miss important opportunities for church reform, writes NCR contributor Thomas Reese. 

'Inviting young people beyond the traditional and typical provides room for them to experience something beyond the ordinary,' a Springtide Research Institute report states.

The degree to which Pope Francis has engaged with the central debate in environmental thought over the past half a century — anthropocentrism versus eco- or biocentrism — has not been adequately recognized. 

Until he calls for a cease-fire, President Joe Biden will be at odds with a pontiff who rejects war as a tool for peace, says Bishop John Stowe.