A new Vatican group backed by Pope Francis is taking a whack at stopping Mafia members from exploiting the Virgin Mary and other Catholic imagery in order to recruit members and whitewash their dark underworld image. Read more
A new Vatican group backed by Pope Francis is taking a whack at stopping Mafia members from exploiting the Virgin Mary and other Catholic imagery in order to recruit members and whitewash their dark underworld image. Read more
A partnership has developed between “an agnostic and a pope, an ex-communist and a Catholic, an Italian and an Argentine, a gastronome and a theologian.” Carlo Petrini, founder of the international Slow Food movement, to broaden his environmental appeal. Despite their different ideologies, the two leaders have joined together to bring awareness to an issue Read more
Donald Trump’s campaign to be re-elected has been boosted after he won the backing of a member of Osama bin Laden’s family. Noor Bin Ladin, niece of the notorious terrorist – who was shot dead during an operation ordered by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama – said that the Republican “must” remain at the White House. Read more
Under the nearly 2,000-year-old dome of Rome’s Pantheon and above the relics of early Christian martyrs, the melodies of Johann Sebastian Bach and other composers are being played on the organ this month in an effort to use beauty to reconnect people with the mystery of God. The Pantheon’s International Organ Festival seeks to create Read more
Queer folks and their allies have had a fraught relationship with religion and the institution of the church. Joshua Todd, a gay atheist knows this well. But for his birthday he wanted to bring attention to the needs of a Norfolk, Virginia-based church that received backlash after voting to become a LGBTQ+ affirming parish. Read Read more
The political operative Roger Stone who sentence to prison was commuted by President Trump describes himself as “first-hand proof that prayer works.” Stone told his story about re-committing himself as a Christian at a Nashville church on Aug. 30, Much of Stone’s testimony amounted to a campaign speech for President Donald Trump and a recounting Read more
Does this sound vaguely familiar? “Let’s run the race marked out for us. Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents. Let’s fix our eyes on this land of heroes and let their courage inspire. And let’s fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith and freedom and never Read more
A Catholic publisher has apologized for using a Mormon image on the cover of two of its 2021 publications. Oregon Catholic Press said the use of the image of the Mormon figure of Moroni was a mistake. The company believed it to be a general image of an angel. The artist – a Catholic who Read more
Declining membership and a lack of new blood coming through have forced the Kaimai Presbytery to review the future of its St Andrew’s Presbyterian Parish of Kihikihi. But already a replacement is waiting in the wings if the presbytery decides to “dissolve” the 130-year-old congregation and sell the church property. Read more
Kanye West is running for president. His campaign, which he announced July 4, could be dismissed as irrelevant: another plot twist in the increasingly bizarre annals of 2020, in which murder hornets run rampant and baby TikTok witches hex the moon. But nothing is more emblematic of our age — not the unprecedented COVID times, but our Read more