The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Pope will make mark on U.S. church through Chicago

January 29, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

When he turned 75, Cardinal Francis George did what the Roman Catholic Church expects of its bishops. He submitted his resignation so the pope could decide how much longer the cardinal would serve. Read story

Religion calendar

January 24, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

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

Pope Francis gives the thumbs up as he is driven through the crowd in his pope-moblie for for his weekly general audience in St.

Pope Francis may visit U.S. in 2015

January 24, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

Though the Vatican hasn't made an official announcement, news that Pope Francis may visit Philadelphia in 2015 has generated buzz among the Catholic community and city residents. Read story

Pope Francis hugs a faithful on the occasion of his visit to the Sacro Cuore church in Rome on Sunday.

Obama to meet with Pope Francis in March

January 20, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican as part of a European trip scheduled for March. Read story

Flowers and gifts were left Monday by a group of people who stopped to pay their respects at the site of a Sunday hit-and-run crash that killed two at the intersection of 72nd and Van Mall Drive in Vancouver.

Grieving families support each other in tragedy

January 20, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

The families of Irina Gardinant and Raisa Mosh are close. When Gardinant and her family moved from Moldova to Vancouver about a year ago, the Mosh family, also from Moldova, helped them settle in. Members of the Mosh family drove them to the grocery store and translated English into Russian.… Read story

Pope Benedict XVI defrocked 400 priests in 2 years

January 16, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for molesting children. Read story

Former Vatican Chief Prosecutor of Clerical Sexual Abuse Charles Scicluna waits for the start of a questioning over clerical sexual abuse of children at the headquarters of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday.

Vatican comes under sharp criticism for sex abuse

January 15, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

GENEVA -- The Vatican came under blistering criticism from a U.N. committee Thursday for its handling of the global priest sex abuse scandal, facing its most intense public grilling to date over allegations that it protected pedophile priests at the expense of victims. Read story

Off Beat: Plot twists: King (County) takes bishop

January 12, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

We lost a position of religious leadership more than a century ago when Washington's Catholic bishop left Vancouver and moved to Seattle. Read story

Photos by Steven Lane/The Columbian
The Rev. William Harris, pastor of the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater, says the downtown parish serves more than 700 families.

New name honors Catholic church’s history

January 9, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

Shaped in part by an Indian massacre and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a local church was the hub of Washington's Catholic ministry for more than 55 years. Read story

Pope Francis waves as he leaves Rome's Jesus' Church to celebrate a mass with the Jesuits, on the occasion of the order's titular feast Friday.

Pope to travel to Holy Land in May amid peace push

January 4, 2014, 4:00pm Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis says his upcoming trip to the Holy Land aims to boost relations with Orthodox Christians. But the three-day visit in May also underscores Francis' close ties to the Jewish community, his outreach to Muslims and the Vatican's longstanding call for peace between Israel and the… Read story