The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Pope Francis looks at a nativity scene as he leaves after his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.

Pope warns Vatican staff an ‘elegant demon’ lurks among them

December 22, 2022, 8:29am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis warned Vatican bureaucrats on Thursday to beware the devil that lurks among them, saying it is an “elegant demon” that works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith. Read story

The Rev. Brian Strassburger, left, and the Rev. Flavio Bravo, right, bless migrants during Mass at the Casa del Migrant shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, on Dec. 15, 2022. Both hope and tension have been rising here and the few other shelters in this border city where thousands of migrants await news of U.S. border policy changes possibly less than a week away.

Faith leaders prep for border changes amid tension, hope

December 19, 2022, 8:28am Churches & Religion

Two long lines of migrants waited for blessings from visiting Catholic priests celebrating Mass at the Casa del Migrante shelter in this border city, just across the bank of the Rio Grande River from Texas. Read story

An Ethiopian woman and her child visit the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. Business in Bethlehem is looking up this Christmas as the traditional birthplace of Jesus recovers from a two-year downturn during the coronavirus pandemic. Streets are already bustling with visitors, stores and hotels are fully booked and a recent jump in Israeli-Palestinian fighting appears to be having little effect on the vital tourism industry.

Bethlehem welcomes Christmas tourists after pandemic lull

December 15, 2022, 10:19am Churches & Religion

Business is bouncing back in Bethlehem after two years in the doldrums during the coronavirus pandemic, lifting spirits in the traditional birthplace of Jesus ahead of the Christmas holiday. Read story

A visit to the key, contested eastern city of Avdiivka in summer 2022. "A crucial city for the Russians," said Mikhail Pavenko. "They still haven't taken it.

Vancouver man on a mission in Ukraine

December 11, 2022, 6:04am Churches & Religion Subscriber Exclusive

When he hears that wicked whistling sound overhead, Mikhail Pavenko knows he’s only got a second or two to hit the ground. Read story

One World Trade, left, is seen next to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in New York.

Church at World Trade Center resurrected

December 10, 2022, 6:53am Churches & Religion

More than two decades after a tiny Greek Orthodox church in lower Manhattan was destroyed by the falling south tower of the World Trade Center, that church’s far grander replacement opened to the public this week in an elevated park overlooking the rebuilt trade center’s memorial plaza. Read story

St. Paul Lutheran Church gets, blesses 1,000 pairs of socks

December 10, 2022, 5:58am Churches & Religion

In 2020, Leslie Relth, office administrator at St. Paul Lutheran Church, received an email from apparel manufacturer Bombas inquiring if the church could use donated socks. Bombas gives away one pair of socks for every pair purchased. Read story

Seattle Archdiocese pays $2.3 million to settle five claims of sexual abuse

December 9, 2022, 7:38am Churches & Religion

The Archdiocese of Seattle has paid nearly $2.3 million since August to settle five claims brought by people who alleged they were sexually abused decades ago by clergy and parish school personnel. Read story

Senior Rabbi Seth Adelson sits for a portrait in his office at Congregation Beth Shalom in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.

Jewish Americans confront antisemitism with resolve, worry

December 8, 2022, 6:12pm Churches & Religion

Jewish Americans are closely following the recent upsurge in antisemitic rhetoric and actions with a mix of anxiety and resolve — along with a yearning that a broader swath of Americans, including leaders across the political spectrum, speak out against anti-Jewish hatred. Read story

Metropolitan Oleksandr delivers a religious service with clerics inside the Transfiguration of Jesus Orthodox Cathedral during blackout caused by recent Russian rocket attacks, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. A top Orthodox priest in Ukraine's capital says he supports the efforts of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government and counter-intelligence agency to end Russian spying and meddling in Ukrainian politics through a Moscow-affiliated church.

Scrutiny of Ukraine church draws praise, fear of overreach

December 8, 2022, 8:27am Churches & Religion

After its searches of holy sites belonging to Ukraine’s historic Orthodox church, the nation’s security agency posted photos of evidence it recovered — including rubles, Russian passports and leaflets with messages from the Moscow patriarch. Read story

Sean Fisher, one of the student coordinators for QPLUS, the LGBTQ student organization for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, stands in the organization's dedicated lounge on the college's campus in St. Joseph, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. To Fisher, a senior in environmental studies who identifies as non-binary, the Catholic colleges' recognition and funding of the organization represents a new era.

LGBTQ students wrestle with tensions at Christian colleges

December 5, 2022, 5:16pm Churches & Religion

As monks chanted prayers in Saint John’s University church, members of the student LGBTQ organization, QPLUS, were meeting in their lounge at the Minnesota institution’s sister Benedictine college, a few miles away. Read story