Churches & Religion

Giant's Pan Challah: bread, sure -- Challah, not so much. (Dixie D.

Store’s Challah has non-kosher additive

January 2, 2016, 5:58am Churches & Religion

"Pan challah is a beautiful slightly sweet and delicious bread perfect for any time of the day," touts the store-brand package I pick up at my local Giant Food. But not this loaf, which, as it turns out, is unfit for the consumers who are most familiar with challah and… Read story

Pope Francis delivers his blessing from his studio's window during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Friday. Welcoming the new year Friday, Pope Francis called for an end to the ??arrogance of the powerful?? relegating the weak to squalid outskirts of society and to the ??false neutrality?? to conflicts, hunger and persecution triggering a sometimes-deadly exodus of refugees.

Pope: Now’s the time to end indifference, ‘false neutrality’

January 1, 2016, 10:00am Churches & Religion

Wishing for a year better than 2015, Pope Francis on Friday called for an end to the ''arrogance of the powerful" that relegates the weak to the outskirts of society, and to the ''false neutrality" toward conflicts, hunger and persecution that triggers exoduses of refugees. Read story

Mormons really love ‘Star Wars’

December 26, 2015, 6:05am Churches & Religion

When “The Empire Strikes Back,” the second film of the “Star Wars” saga, opened in Salt Lake City in May 1980, many Mormons left the theater convinced that they had seen a familiar face. By the time “Return of the Jedi” hit Utah’s rental shelves in the mid-1980s, the rumor… Read story

Pope John Paul II puts his arm around Mother Teresa as they ride in the Popemobile in 1986 outside the Home of the Dying in Kolkata, India. Mother Teresa will be declared a saint next year.

Mother Teresa faced struggles

December 26, 2015, 6:05am Churches & Religion

The Vatican announced recently that Pope Francis will canonize Mother Teresa, perhaps the most famous Catholic sister in modern times. She will, perhaps in several months, become known as St. Teresa of Calcutta (or Kolkata). Though she died almost 20 years ago, her name is still synonymous for many with… Read story

Pope Francis holds the pastoral staff as he celebrates the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday.

Pope urges Christmas prayers for Syria, Libya peace

December 25, 2015, 12:00pm Churches & Religion

Pope Francis issued a Christmas Day prayer that recent U.N.-backed peace processes for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people. He denounced the "monstrous evil" and atrocities they have endured and praised the countries that have taken in their refugees. Read story

Christmas Eve celebrated in Bethlehem

A nun prays inside the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.

Christian faithful from around the world on Thursday descended on the biblical city of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, trying to lift spirits on a holiday dampened by months of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Read story

Security heightened at churches, mosques

Members of the congregation arrive Friday at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center in Sterling, Va.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In Alabama, a Presbyterian church wanted to be able to hire its own police for protection. Mosque leaders around the country are meeting with law enforcement officials as an anti-Muslim furor fuels arson attacks and vandalism. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been holding specialized training… Read story

Twin Cities archdiocese settles civil abuse case

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has reached a settlement with Ramsey County prosecutors in a civil case that alleges it failed to protect children from sexual abuse. Criminal charges accusing church leaders of repeatedly ignoring misconduct by a former priest are pending, but a… Read story