Religion News Service

Pope Francis' pilgrimage to Iraq helped to show pastoral solidarity with his suffering Christian flock, call for peace and reconciliation for the Iraqi people and establish improved relations between Christians and Muslims.

For more than a century, Catholic social teaching has advocated not for a minimum wage but for a living wage for workers. Sadly, however, the U.S. Congress cannot even increase the minimum wage because of parliamentary rules and Republican opposition.

Leaders at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are discouraging Catholics from using the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine if given a choice, citing the use of cells with a distant link to abortion in the development of the vaccine.

Olga Segura has often been asked why she’s chosen to remain involved in the Catholic Church, an institution that, in her eyes, has often ignored the trauma of Black people. As a journalist who’s built her career in Catholic media, has asked herself that same question: Why did she attach her identity to such an institution?

The archdiocese said the vaccine is 'morally compromised' because it utilized cells with a decades-old link to an aborted fetus.

The history of Black Christianity in America came to television screens this month in a documentary series based on a new book, The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song, by Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr., a Harvard University historian. An interview with Stacey Holman, who produced and directed the series.

A group of Apache peoples and other Native American and non-Native supporters has filed an emergency motion to stop the U.S. government from transferring an Apache sacred site in Arizona to a mining company in the next two weeks.

A Catholic social justice activist who police knocked down during a protest over racism last year has sued the city of Buffalo, its mayor, the police commissioner and several police officers.

Following months of lockdown, the historic collection at the Vatican Museums reopened to the public last week but drew criticism from guides and visitors for the excessive crowds and lack of social distancing.

I suggest we should use our digital gadgets to celebrate Lent better, especially during the pandemic that has made it so difficult to go to church. 

There are filters that blur "imperfections" in photos and filters that turn lawyers into cats on Zoom. Now there are filters to help Christians safely display the very visible Ash Wednesday mark on social media.

References to faith were a constant at last week's impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump, with Democrats appearing especially comfortable invoking religion when discussing the attack on the U.S. Capitol by insurrectionists on Jan. 6.

Most Black Americans attend predominantly Black congregations, but a majority think such congregations should welcome people of other races, a study from Pew Research Center shows.

Signs of the Times: After the Obama and Trump administrations, the Biden administration has been left to pick its way through a minefield regarding the Little Sisters of the Poor and the contraceptive mandate.

Since Biden's inauguration, the bishops' conference has been busy putting out press releases that for the most part welcome the new administration's policy initiatives, including those that reverse core policies of the Trump administration.

Germany's Catholic bishops are planning a set of conferences slated to address questions such as women's roles and LGBTQ acceptance, as the country faces another scandal of sexual abuse by clergy.

In a recent interview, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second-highest official at the Vatican, addressed the institution's recent financial scandals, the pope's upcoming trip to Iraq and the Vatican's controversial deal with China.

Fantasy novel enthusiasts wish to turn the house of famed Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien in Oxford, where he wrote "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," into a meeting place for writers, screenwriters and filmmakers from all cultures and faith backgrounds.

U.S. Catholic bishops are getting ready to wage war on the new administration — and possibly each other — over the Catholic president's positions on abortion, gay rights and religious freedom.

The morning of Jan. 21, I received my first COVID-19 vaccination, which means that two weeks after my second shot, I will be free to leave my house. What will I do with that freedom?