Catholic Church Attempts To Dissuade War With North Korea

U.S. and South Korean Catholic bishops have called for the U.S. and North Korea to deescalate the current threat of war between them. Bishop Oscar Cantu, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' international justice and peace committee, sent a letter to Secretary Rex Tillerson on Thursday urging Washington to avoid war and find a dialogue-based solution to the current tensions with Pyongyang, according to Newsweek .

Ex-Catholic bishop of Phoenix accused of sex abuse of boy

Witnesses and police say at least one gunman opened fire at a popular San Francisco park packed with families and tourists, leaving three people wounded and sending dozens of panicked people running. Witnesses and police say at least one gunman opened fire at a popular San Francisco park packed with families and tourists, leaving three people wounded and sending dozens of panicked people running.

Liberal Stacked College Of Cardinals Asks Why HHS Mandate Still Exists

New cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of the U.S. leaves the altar after he received the biretta, a four-cornered red hat, from Pope Benedict XVI during the Consistory ceremony in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican November 24, 2007. Pope Benedict, elevating 23 prelates from around the world to the elite rank of cardinal, made a pressing appeal on Saturday for an end to the war in Iraq and decried the plight of the country's Christian minority.

5 faith facts about Sam Brownback: Political champion of religious freedom

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, President Trump's nominee for international religious freedom ambassador, describes religious freedom as "the choice of what you do with your own soul." If confirmed, the 60-year-old, two-term Republican governor, former U.S. senator and onetime presidential candidate would be the first politician confirmed as the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

Kansas Gov. Brownback nominated as Trump’s religious ambassador

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be nominated as President Donald Trump 's ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the White House announced. Brownback, 60, became Kansas' governor six years ago after serving in the U.S. Senate from 1996-2011 and the House for one term.

With Israeli decision on prayers at Western Wall, some see diminished clout of liberal US Jews

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet voted to renege on a compromise plan for a plaza where women and men could pray together at the Western Wall, the decision was widely viewed as a move to placate ultra-religious parties in the ruling government coalition. But analysts and former government officials say there's another key factor at play: The rise of President Donald Trump has reinforced the perception among some in Israel's right-wing government that the clout of liberal non-Orthodox Jews in the U.S. is diminishing.

Amnesty USA files FOI request on travel ban

Following the US Supreme Court decision which allows parts of President Trump's travel ban to go into effect, Amnesty International USA has filed a Freedom of Information Act request, to discover how key federal agencies intend to implement the ban. The ban is often referred to as a 'Muslim ban' because it targets people travelling from countries with majority Muslim populations.

Supreme Court rules for church in case involving rubber playground surfacing

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources violated the rights of a Lutheran church school when it denied a grant for the church to install a rubber playground surface at the school, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 decision. In 2012, the Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning Center in Columbia, Mo., applied to the DNR for a grant to replace pea gravel playground surfacing at the school with a pour-in-place rubber surface, under Missouri's Scrap Tire Program.

Microphone cut after Mormon girl reveals she’s gay at church

A video of a young Mormon girl revealing to her congregation that she is lesbian and still loved by God - before her microphone is turned off by local church leaders - is sparking a new round of discussions about how the religion handles LGBT issues. Savannah, 13, spoke on May 7 in Eagle Mountain, Utah, about her belief that she is the child of heavenly parents who didn't make any mistakes when she was created.

A Matter of Transparency

Numerous "American friends of" organizations exist in the Jewish communal firmament to help direct funds to worthy causes in Israel. That's what most people thought was the case with an organization known as Aish International - it was generally assumed to be the American fundraising arm of Jerusalem-based Aish HaTorah, the haredi Orthodox outreach group with programs throughout the world.

Southern Baptists – once an overtly racist, pro-slavery group…

Like American politics, religion in this country is also in a state of flux. Perhaps nowhere is this fact more evident than in the Southern Baptist Convention, which wrapped up its annual meeting this week in Phoenix with a nearly unanimous vote to condemn the racist political movement commonly referred to as the "alt-right."

Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs captured after 1 year

Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs was captured Wednesday at a marina in southeast South Dakota after being on the run for nearly a year after escaping from home confinement in Utah pending trial on food stamp fraud charges. The FBI announced the capture Thursday morning with a Tweet: "#ARRESTED: FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs in custody after nearly a year on the lam."

Southern Baptists wrestle with tensions over Trump election

The Southern Baptist Convention, home to prominent evangelical supporters of President Donald Trump, adopted a statement on moral leadership at the group's annual meeting Tuesday that avoided pointed criticism of current political officeholders. The denomination also rejected a proposal to condemn the "alt-right," the political movement that came to the forefront during the presidential election that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism.

Supreme Court Affirms Religious Exemption from ERISA Pension Law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that church-affiliated hospital systems do not have to comply with a federal law governing employee pensions, overturning lower court decisions that could have cost the hospitals billions of dollars. The court ruled 8-0 that church-affiliated organizations are exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a 1974 law that forces private employers to follow rules aimed at protecting pension plan participants.

Alt-right celebrates alleged body slam of Jewish reporter Ben Jacobs by GOP congressional candidate

Users of websites associated with the "alt-right" are cheering a Republican congressional candidate from Montana for allegedly body slamming Jewish reporter Ben Jacobs. There was no indication that Greg Gianforte knew or cared that Jacobs was Jewish when, on Wednesday evening, he allegedly threw Jacobs to the ground and broke his glasses - leading to misdemeanor assault charges.