First elected as a Reagan Republican to the U.S. House in 1984, the outgoing governor has staked out positions sometimes at odds with the national party and largely supports official church stances.
Worldwide, the landscape of religion is not serene. Many denominations have been racked by divisions. In some regions, believers are targeted with violence. Countless faith leaders have betrayed their flocks via corruption or sexual abuse. Against this backdrop, there has been a long-running discussion about the role that religion can play in enhancing personal well-being and lowering the risk of mental health problems.
Catholics had become conditioned to believe the conventional wisdom that an American would never be elected pope, writes Michael J. O'Loughlin. Nearly a year after his election, what does it mean to have a pope from the U.S.?
The scriptural passage that President Donald Trump read in a livestreamed Bible-reading marathon dates back to the depiction of an ancient event — but it's one that carries a highly charged significance in the current religious and political climate.
Vatican journalist Salvatore Cernuzio's new book, Padre: An Untold Portrait of Pope Francis, is a narrative built from proximity, trust and the unusual, intimate relationship between its author and the late pope.
Since his election last May, Pope Leo XIV has hammered home the theme of unity. But nowhere has that message taken on sharper contours than in Angola, where the long shadow of civil war and stark inequality continues to fracture the nation.
"Leo has started to shed the soft-spoken reputation, raising his voice with a newfound fervor to decry the corruption and violence plaguing much of the African continent in messages that have rippled worldwide," writes NCR's Justin McLellan.
