The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Pope Francis to undergo intestinal surgery under general anesthesia

June 7, 2023, 9:52am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis is going to the hospital Wednesday for abdominal surgery to treat an intestinal blockage, two years after he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed because of an inflammation and narrowing of the large intestine. Read story

Musicians Ike Turner, left, and Tina Turner are pictured in 1970. She left the abusive relationship in 1976 and embarked on a solo career.

Buddhist faith gave Tina Turner strength to leave Ike

June 3, 2023, 6:00am Churches & Religion

While Tina Turner is heralded as an R&B and rock icon, her Buddhist faith was the soul that drove her eventful life and career. Read story

A carpenter works on the new roof of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Thursday, May, 25, 2023, near Angers, western France. Carpenters building a new timber frame for the fire-ravaged roof of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral are using the same tools and techniques as their medieval predecessors. For them, working with hand-axes to fashion oak beams has been like stepping back in time.

Time machine: Rebuilding Notre Dame’s fire-ravaged roof transports workers back to Middle Ages

May 30, 2023, 5:19pm Churches & Religion

If time travel was possible, medieval carpenters would surely be amazed to see how woodworking techniques they pioneered in building Notre Dame Cathedral more than 800 years ago are being used again today to rebuild the world-famous monument’s fire-ravaged roof. Read story

Master santero Felix Lopez, an artist trained in New Mexico's centuries-old tradition of religious sculpture and painting, speaks April 16 in front of the 1810s "reredo" or altarpiece he cleaned and preserved in the Holy Rosary Mission Church in Truchas, N.M.

New Mexican Spanish dialect survives mostly in prayers

May 27, 2023, 6:42am Churches & Religion

On a spring Saturday afternoon, two “hermanos” knelt to pray in the chapel of their Catholic brotherhood of St. Isidore the Farmer, nestled by the pine forest outside this hamlet in a high mountain valley. Read story

Pope Francis attends the world's first meeting of the 'Educational Eco-Cities' promoted by the 'Scholas Occurrentes', at the Vatican, Thursday, May 25, 2023.

Pope runs fever, skips meetings, Vatican says

May 26, 2023, 7:41am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis skipped meetings Friday because he was running a fever, the Vatican said. Read story

This screenshot from video of Pastor Jason Graber, of the Sure Foundation Baptist Church, is going viral for spreading messages that could incite violence toward the transgender community.

Spokane pastor’s anti-trans rhetoric condemned by religious leaders after going viral

May 25, 2023, 10:30am Churches & Religion

Leaders in Spokane’s faith community condemned a local pastor after he called for the killing of parents of transgender children in a video sermon last month that Spokane police are investigating for potential criminality. Read story

Two Christian college students used pronouns in their email signatures. Then they were fired

May 24, 2023, 9:11am Churches & Religion

Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot thought the pronouns in their work email signatures would be a helpful identifier that could foster conversation and promote inclusivity, particularly at the small Christian university in New York where they worked. Read story

Hope Learning Center students participate in a learning activity in teacher Erika Sagert's English class in 2022.

Hope Learning Center moving from Brush Prairie to Bethel Community Church in Washougal

May 23, 2023, 4:51pm Churches & Religion

A Christian learning center that offers home-schooled students accredited educational services in classroom settings is moving to Washougal. Read story

Crop farmer Bob Worth plants corn in one of the many fields on his family's 2,100 acres in Lake Benton, Minn., on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Worth is a third-generation farmer who battled depression in the early '80s and now advocates for further help and deeper conversations around mental health and suicide prevention.

Saving the farm: Heartland clergy train to prevent agriculture workers’ suicides

May 20, 2023, 6:05am Churches & Religion

With traces of winter’s unusually heavy snow still lingering but a warm sun finally shining, farmers were out dawn to dusk in early May on their tractors, planting corn and soybeans across southwestern Minnesota fields many have owned for generations. Read story

Edna Adan Ismail, seen in London, is the winner of the 2023 Templeton Prize, one of the world's largest annual individual awards.

Midwife wins Templeton prize

May 20, 2023, 6:02am Churches & Religion

Edna Adan Ismail, a nurse-midwife, hospital founder, and health care advocate who for decades has combated female circumcision and strived to improve women’s health care in East Africa, was named Tuesday as winner of the 2023 Templeton Prize, one of the world’s largest annual individual awards. Read story