More than 3,000 leaders from the US and around the world put aside political disagreements for a few moments this week at the 62nd annual National Prayer Breakfast. President Obama spoke about the importance of religious liberty. Conservatives have criticized … More →

February 7, 2014

A new report says the abortion rate in the U.S. has fallen to its lowest point since 1973, the year the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized most abortion nationwide. According to the Guttmacher Institute, there were fewer than 17 … More →

February 7, 2014

A controversy this week over publication of the personal notes of the late Pope John Paul II: The new book is I Am Very Much in God’s Hands, and the issue is whether it should have been published at all. … More →

February 7, 2014

Valentine’s Day (February 14) is named for two St. Valentines who were martyred in the second and third centuries. The day wasn’t associated with romantic love until the Middle Ages, when Geoffrey Chaucer and others made the connection.

February 7, 2014

At a car auction in Paris, Pope Francis’s Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide motorbike went on sale. It had been given to Francis last year and bore his signature. The value before the auction was estimated at the Euro equivalent … More →

February 7, 2014

Religious groups had mixed reactions to President Obama’s State of the Union address. Some praised Obama’s call for an increase in the minimum wage. But others, including religious conservatives, argued this would hurt businesses and lead to more unemployment. Also, … More →

January 31, 2014

After months of lobbying on the farm bill, many in the religious community were disappointed by the compromise worked out by House and Senate negotiators. Groups including Bread for the World and the U.S. Catholic bishops expressed concern about a … More →

January 31, 2014

Religious groups were also reacting to an updated Pentagon policy on uniform and grooming standards. Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs were among those welcoming the new rules relating to religious practices such as wearing beards and head coverings. The military … More →

January 31, 2014

Faith groups are on opposite sides as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments surrounding the so-called contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act. On March 25, the Supreme Court will hear two cases about whether for-profit businesses, with owners … More →

January 31, 2014

In Italy, an unusual theft at a church in Rome where the late Pope John Paul II prayed: It was a case containing a cloth stained with John Paul’s blood. Three suspects were arrested. A blood-stained cloth fragment was found … More →

January 31, 2014