Religion News Service

Signs of the Times: I can see the headlines now: "Papal encyclical condemned as sexist." Groan!

Signs of the Times: American Catholics are fighting over whether Joe Biden can be called a Catholic politician. Connected to this question is another: "Can a Catholic vote for Biden?"

Signs of the Times: Since COVID-19 first began to spread, Pope Francis has been challenging Catholics and the world about the response to the pandemic. As a pastor, he's also offered us hope.

Signs of the Times: Pope Francis is at heart a pastor who likes to be with his people, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made that impossible. What should he do with all his extra time?

When the first COVID-19 cases hit Brazil in March, the government agency in charge of protecting the country's Indigenous peoples, the National Indigenous Foundation, ordered all civilians to leave the Indigenous reservations. Only essential workers, such as health care personnel and those involved in food distribution, could remain.

Few, if any, vice presidential candidates have had as much exposure to the world’s religions as Kamala Harris, the 55-year-old senator from California whom Joe Biden just picked as his running mate.

Signs of the Times: Many Americans assume the U.S. Catholic bishops are diehard supporters of Donald Trump, but on several issues, they strongly criticize the administration. 

Seven years after the disappearance of an Italian Jesuit priest in Syria, family members and Vatican officials address his legacy and demand the truth about what happened to the thousands who vanished in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

Signs of the Times: Despite the terrible impact of COVID-19 on us, in what ways could the coronavirus change work, families and church for the better?

Catholic schools in Los Angeles county must now resume the fall year using distance learning, delaying previous plans to reopen their doors for in-person classes.

While Los Angeles public schools will remain online this fall, Catholic schools in the county still plan to reopen their doors for in-person classes.

Signs of the Times: The time is already past to admit that the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is a moral crisis, not simply a public health and economic crisis. 

As Californians once again reckon with their statues of Serra, the founder of what would become 21 missions along the California coast, Native people and Indigenous scholars say it's time for their voices to be heard and their existence to be recognized.

Signs of the Times: Going our own way, with total disregard for the desires and interests of other countries, we eschew multilateralism, whether in trade negotiations or dealing with climate change.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has temporarily shut down the Dakota Access pipeline for the latest twist in what activists and religious leaders have called a " spiritual battle."

Signs of the Times: Religious conservatives bet all their credibility on the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, who promised to appoint judges who would roll back the expansion of gay rights. This has been a costly bet that has alienated millions of young people from Christianity.

President Donald Trump has renewed outreach efforts to conservative Christians this week, targeting his most dedicated supporters in the wake of lagging poll numbers.

With COVID-19 restrictions preventing an intended in-person rally in Washington D.C., at least a million supporters of the Poor People's Campaign reportedly tuned in June 20 to watch a mix of live speeches and pre-recorded clips of liberal religious leaders calling for a "moral revolution" and the enactment of a sweeping policy agenda focused on the poor.

A conservative Catholic publication has sparked backlash after it released a video on June 11 referring to the African American archbishop of Washington as an "accused homosexual," a "Marxist" and an "African Queen."

Signs of the Times: In the streets of Washington, D.C., we have seen religion used as a political prop and we have seen it exercise its prophetic voice.