Churches & Religion

Rev. Adrian Vazquez celebrates an outdoor Mass under a white tent outside the quake-damaged Our Lady of the Angels church, in the working-class Guerrero neighborhood of Mexico City, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Pictured right is a wax painting of Our Lady of the Angels, a replica of the one on the wall inside the church, home to the revered image of the Virgin Mary, its history dating to the end of the 16th century.

Quake-hit church to get rehab

September 3, 2022, 5:49am Churches & Religion

Under a white tent on the street outside Our Lady of the Angels on a recent Sunday, the Rev. Adrián Vázquez led parishioners seated in pews and plastic chairs in celebrating 10 o’clock Mass, flanked by piles of rubble from the sanctuary left there by a deadly earthquake nearly five… Read story

Former Bangor Christian Schools sophomore Olivia Carson, then 15, of Glenburn, Maine, left, stands with her mother Amy while getting dropped off on the first day of school on August 28, 2018 in Bangor, Maine. Parents of students enrolled in religious schools fought for years -- all the way to the Supreme Court -- for tuition to be reimbursed by the state, the same as other private schools. But only one religious school has signed up to participate so far.

Religious schools shun state funding despite Maine victory

August 30, 2022, 8:29am Churches & Religion

Parents of children enrolled in Maine religious schools fought for years — all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — for the state to treat tuition reimbursements the same as other private schools. Read story

Black adults’ religious life linked to heart health

August 27, 2022, 6:05am Churches & Religion

Black adults who frequently attend church or have a deep sense of spirituality are more likely to meet key measures for good cardiovascular health, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet and maintaining blood pressure in the normal range, new research finds. Read story

Newest U.S. Cardinal: McElroy an ally of pope, draws ire elsewhere

August 27, 2022, 6:02am Churches & Religion

When San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy receives his prestigious red hat at the Vatican on today, he will bring to the College of Cardinals a fervent loyalty to Pope Francis that has often put him at odds with the conservative majority in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Read story

Newest U.S. cardinal: A San Diego-based ally of Pope Francis

August 22, 2022, 8:06am Churches & Religion

When San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy receives his prestigious red hat at the Vatican on Saturday, he will bring to the College of Cardinals a fervent loyalty to Pope Francis that has often put him at odds with the conservative majority in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Read story

River ‘always makes things better’

The upper reaches of New Zealand's Whanganui River flow on June 16, 2022. In 2017, New Zealand passed a groundbreaking law granting personhood status to the Whanganui River. The law declares that the river is a living whole, from the mountains to the sea, incorporating all its physical and metaphysical elements.

Five years ago, the Whanganui River was recognized as a living person in a groundbreaking New Zealand law. For many who live along its banks, the official recognition validated the deep spiritual connection they feel with the river. They continue to feel the draw of its waters each day, whether… Read story

Nicaraguan police arrest bishop, other priests in raid

FILE - Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, bishop of Matagalpa, attends a press conference regarding the Roman Catholic Church's agreeing to act as "mediator and witness" in a national dialogue between members of civil society and the government in Managua, Nicaragua, May 3, 2018.

Nicaraguan police on Friday raided the residence of a Roman Catholic bishop who is an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government, apparently detaining the senior clergyman and several other priests who had been holed up inside for two weeks after police set up a cordon. Read story

Judge limits privilege defense in Arizona Mormon sex abuse case

FILE - A street sign leads to what was once the home of Paul Adams and his family on the outskirts of Bisbee, Ariz., on Oct 26, 2021.

An Arizona judge overseeing a high-profile lawsuit accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of conspiring to cover-up child sex abuse has ruled that the church may not refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under the state’s “clergy-penitent privilege.” Read story

Long-hidden synagogue mural gets rehabbed, relocated

The Lost Mural hangs in the entryway of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, in Burlington, Vt., July 29, 2022. The mural painted in 1910 by a Lithuanian immigrant, that was later hidden behind a wall for years, has been rehabilitated and moved and is what experts say is a rare piece of art.

A mural that was painted in a Vermont synagogue more than 100 years ago by a Lithuanian immigrant — and hidden behind a wall for years— has been termed a rare piece of art and has been painstakingly moved and restored. Read story