Churches & Religion

The bunker coat and helmet worn by FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge are displayed Sept. 11, 2011, as city of New York Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano speaks at the New York City Fire Museum in New York during a memorial ceremony for the 343 members of the FDNY who lost their lives in the World Trade Center attacks.

Sainthood urged for 9/11 chaplain

September 11, 2021, 5:59am Churches & Religion

Among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 terror attacks, Mychal Judge, a Catholic chaplain with New York’s fire department, left a uniquely complex legacy that continues to evolve 20 years after his death. Read story

A class in Judaism is held under a tent set upon outside Temple Beth El, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Augusta, Maine. The recent COVID-19 upsurge is disrupting plans for full-fledged in-person services. "The ability to see people face to face is wonderful, whatever way they choose to come," Rabbi Erica Asch says. "But there's a little bit of sadness that we can't all be together the way we'd like." (AP Photo/Robert F.

Pandemic once again disrupts plans for Jewish High Holy Days

September 4, 2021, 2:38pm Churches & Religion

As customary, there will be celebrations and somber reflections as American Jews observe the upcoming High Holy Days — their faith’s most important period. There also will be deep disappointment, as rabbis once again cancel or limit in-person worship due to the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. Read story

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Russell M. Nelson speaks during a news conference on June 14 in Salt Lake City. Members of the faith remain deeply divided on vaccines and mask-wearing despite consistent guidance from church leaders.

Mormon vaccine push ramps up

September 4, 2021, 6:00am Churches & Religion

After more than a year of attending church virtually, Monique Allen has struggled to explain to her asthmatic daughter why people from their congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t wear masks. Allen said she has taught her daughter that wearing a mask is Christlike, but… Read story

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, left, arrives at Dedham District Court, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Dedham, Mass. McCarrick, the once-powerful American prelate who was expelled from the priesthood for sexual abuse, pleaded not guilty Friday to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts nearly 50 years ago.

Ex-Cardinal McCarrick, 91, pleads not guilty to sex assault

September 3, 2021, 12:30pm Churches & Religion

Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the once-powerful American prelate who was expelled from the priesthood for sexual abuse, pleaded not guilty Friday to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy during a wedding reception in Massachusetts nearly 50 years ago. Read story

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, file photo, Berny Lopez, an operations specialist for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, moves donated diapers at the organization's drop-off site for items to help refugees from Afghanistan, in Baltimore. Many different religion groups across the U.S. are gearing up to assist the thousands of incoming refugees.

U.S. faith groups unite to help Afghanistan refugees after war

September 1, 2021, 11:42am Churches & Religion

America’s major religions and denominations, often divided on other big issues, have united behind the effort to help receive an influx of refugees from Afghanistan following the end of the United States’ longest war and one of the largest airlifts in history. Read story

Pope inadvertently quotes Putin to chide West’s Afghan war

Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.

Pope Francis has criticized the West’s two-decade-long involvement in Afghanistan as an outsider’s attempt to impose democracy — although he did it by citing Russia’s Vladimir Putin while thinking he was quoting Germany’s Angela Merkel. Read story

Ministry brings message of hope

Leah Howard, of Living Word Church, speaks to incarcerated women at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville during Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree Parent Day program. The program was the first outside event allowed in the prison since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Leah Howard stood on a stage in the middle of a prison recreation yard and told the hundreds of women sitting in the rain and staring up at her that this was their time — their time to learn how to be a better mom, their time to focus on… Read story

Many Bible Belt preachers silent on shots as COVID-19 surges

FILE - In this May 9, 2021 file photo, Rev. Joseph Jackson Jr. talks to his congregation at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Milwaukee during a service. Health officials have an unsteady partner as they try to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Bible Belt: churches and pastors. Some preachers are praying for more inoculations and hosting vaccination clinics. Others are skirting the topic of vaccines or openly preaching against them in a region that's both deeply religious and reeling from a spike in cases.

Dr. Danny Avula, the head of Virginia’s COVID-19 vaccination effort, suspected he might have a problem getting pastors to publicly advocate for the shots when some members of his own church referred to them as “the mark of the beast,” a biblical reference to allegiance to the devil, and the… Read story