“I see the encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’ as a testament of Pope Francis. He’s bringing together all the things he wanted to say over the last seven years, and there’s an obvious connection with the Human Fraternity document that he signed with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Al Sharif on February 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi,” Read more
America’s megachurches have continued to thrive over the past five years, attracting more worshippers, becoming more diverse and opening new locations. A pre-pandemic, national survey of megachurches from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research found the median megachurch draws about 4,100 attenders to its worship services, up from about 3,700 in 2015. The average megachurch Read more
Just as Christians in the 21st century are heirs of the apostles and martyrs of the early Church, Christians in Japan are heirs of the martyrs and hidden Christians of that country from the early 17th century to the late 19th century. That is true whether we modern believers are Japanese or not, Catholic Christians Read more
The European Union and representatives from seven countries denounced the worldwide persecution of Christians on Sept. 27 at the United Nations. The panel discussion, held during the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly, was co-hosted by the permanent missions of Hungary and Brazil. The event, “Rebuilding Lives, Rebuilding Communities: Ensuring a Future for Persecuted Read more
Christians cannot pray like or with Muslims, says Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Müller, the former archbishop of Regensburg, Germany, made the comment during a reflection in Verona on the theme “Prayer: A gift from God,” telling hundreds of listeners that “the faithful of Islam are not Read more
An Egyptian Muslim who planned to kill his cousin for converting to Christianity has shared how he embraced the religion he once hated after Jesus delivered a powerful message to him in a dream. Read more Related Posts:Muslim dad ‘beats and burns daughter for converting…What is Islam’s appeal to Māori?Muslim shop owner told his religion Read more
Chinese Catholics are resisting Beijing’s campaign to restrict religious freedom. As the law forbids minors from entering places of worship, Catholics are “reinventing” their homes as temporary “churches” for services that can include the whole family. “Each family is continuing its faith activities at home and maintaining its strong bonds with God,” says a young Read more
Christian conversion is not for the fainthearted in Iran. It can be a crime leading to a decade in jail. The Iranian government uses the Internet to censor and monitor activists and to enforce official religious interpretations. Surveillance cameras watch Catholic churches. They’re looking for Muslims going into Christian churches, Iranian-born journalist Sohrab Ahmari says. Read more
Interfaith unity has seen Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the Occupied West Bank join together in a march to remember those who were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last month. Palestinian Orthodox Christians limited their celebrations on Palm Sunday, restricting the occasion to religious rituals to mourn the deaths of 17 Gazans killed in Read more
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther, a German monk, initiated a split in Christianity that came to be known as the Protestant Reformation. After the Reformation, deep divisions between Protestants and Catholics contributed to wars, hostility and violence in Europe and America. For centuries, each side denounced the other and sought to convert its followers. Then, in the early 1900s, Read more