Churches & Religion

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Pope Francis on Thursday at the Vatican.

Obama, Francis find common ground, sharp divisions

March 26, 2014, 5:00pm Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- President Barack Obama and the Vatican gave distinctly different accounts of the president's audience with Pope Francis on Thursday, with Obama stressing their common ground on poverty and inequality but Vatican officials emphasizing sharp differences over Obama's health care law which mandates contraception coverage. Read story

Archdiocese’s hunt for fraud goes on

March 22, 2014, 5:00pm Business

Nearly two weeks after the Archdiocese of Seattle posted an urgent notice that the Social Security numbers of employees and volunteers had been used in a national tax-fraud scheme, details are still hard to come by. Read story

Religion Calendar

March 21, 2014, 5:00pm Churches & Religion

A weekly list of religion-related classes and events Read story

Associated Press files
Junior McCormick tests his faith by handling a rattlesnake as Homer Browing looks on in 1995 during services at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Kingston, Ga. Church members believe that if they have faith in God, they will be protected from harm as they handle the serpents.

Kentucky snake handler’s death doesn’t shake faith

March 21, 2014, 5:00pm Churches & Religion

Three days after pastor Jamie Coots died from a rattlesnake bite at church, mourners leaving the funeral went to the church to handle snakes. Read story

The Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. prepares to protest outside the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, Kan., on July 1, 2007. Phelps, the founder of the Kansas church known for anti-gay protests and pickets at military funerals, died Thursday.

Anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps Sr. dies at 84

March 19, 2014, 5:00pm Churches & Religion

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Fred Phelps did not care what you thought of his Westboro Baptist Church, nor did he care if you heard its message that society's tolerance for gay people is the root of all earthly evil. Read story

Gun used against Pope John Paul II to be exhibited

This photo provided by Alitalia shows the Browning HP 9mm handgun used to shoot Pope John Paul II in the abdomen in St.

WARSAW, Poland -- The gun used by a would-be assassin to shoot Pope John Paul II will be on display at a museum dedicated to the pontiff as a sign of God's protection of him, according to priests in charge of the museum. Read story

Single father breaks ground on new Habitat house

Doug West, 45, and his two children Cheyenne, 15, and Kody, 17, attend a ground-breaking on Sunday for their new Habitat for Humanity home in the Five Corners area.

Doug West didn't give up. A single father of two teenagers, he shared a room in a two-bedroom rental, and home ownership was only a dream. He applied for the Habitat for Humanity program but lost his job in the construction industry while he was in the application process. Employment… Read story