Easter becomes “a very thin, generic festival,” says author Rev. Fleming Rutledge, without “looking into the grave and then saying we rejoice with the risen Christ.” Only then, she says, can flowers “give us the gladness that comes with the unrepeatable quality of the resurrection.”

As the US and Cuba restore diplomatic ties, is the Cuban government also becoming less hostile to religion and the church; a charity is restoring disabled people’s mobility and sense of dignity—free of charge; and we travel to New Mexico … More →

With the approval of plans to build the first new Catholic church in over 50 years and Pope Francis's recent visit to the country, there are signs of increasing openness to religious life in Cuba after 50 years of repressive Communist rule.

Jaipur Foot provides free orthopedic care to poor people with disabilities and missing limbs. That's important in a country where disability still carries a deep stigma, according to the group's founder D.R. Mehta. "They can go and work back in their field, factory, or shop, earn their living. They ...

During Maundy Thursday and Good Friday “pilgrimage becomes a metaphor for life,” says Rev. Kenneth Semon of the Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe. “We’re following our Lord, who goes before us.”

The Catholic Church under Pope Francis may be open to reform on divorce, contraceptives, and marriage; the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims wants to end poverty, encourage peace, and foster religious understanding.

"Islam believes fundamentally that the spiritual and material worlds are inextricably connected. Faith is a force that should deepen our concern for our worldly habitat, for embracing its challenges, and for improving the quality of human life."

Pope Francis may soon release his greatly anticipated response to a key bishops’ meeting on family issues that took place last fall. At that meeting, bishops discussed the church’s response to a host of issues, including some that are very controversial. The bishops were especially divided over ...

Combat veterans are coming home from our recent wars with deep moral injuries as well as physical wounds; when these Benedictine sisters are not praying for the world, they are working their 300-acre Colorado cattle ranch; and the days before … More →

"It’s morally urgent just as we send citizen soldiers to war that we bring citizen soldiers home," says Georgetown University philosophy professor Nancy Sherman. Despite the moral hurt and guilt combatants feel, civilian society can help them recover “a sense of goodness about yourself, to ...

“You have here a silence that just breathes in you the greatness of God,” says Mother Superior Maria Michael of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Walburga, situated among grassy meadows and snow-capped Colorado mountains.

"If I’m hungry I should eat. If I’m thirsty I should drink. But because of a recognition of a greater and higher need, I choose not to," says Abdu’l Karim Ewing-Boyd. We visited him and his family in Washington, DC as they prepared to break the long fast leading up to the Baha'i New Year.

The biggest abortion case in decades will be argued before the Supreme Court minus Justice Scalia; ethical rules and responsibilities governing treatment of civilians caught up in international wars and conflicts; and actor Geza Rohrig, an Orthodox Jew, lead actor … More →

“We’ve seen a spike in women trying to do abortions on themselves,” says Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder of Whole Women’s Health. “That is not in the best interests of women’s health and safety.”

“The countries neighboring Syria—Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan—have been extremely generous to the refugees,” says Michel Gabaudan, president of Refugees International. “But they’re bursting at the seams now, and that’s why we see people moving out. I think perhaps where we have failed is ...

“I don’t think history turned a page” at Auschwitz, says Hungarian actor Geza Rohrig. “Genocide is a permanent possibility. I thought, the bloodiest century is just behind us; the 21st must be much better. Well, 15 years into the 21st, it doesn’t seem very promising.”

Watch more of our interview with actor Geza Rohrig, star of the Holocaust film “Son of Saul,” who talks with R&E about Max Weber, Martin Buber, Primo Levi, Franz Kafka, and his character, Saul Auslander. “The only person who is … More →

The pope’s visit to Mexico highlights Catholic concern for immigrants and refugees; impact of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death on upcoming court cases; and the influx at divinity schools of students who are secular or unaffiliated with any religious group.  

"The story of migration is rooted in our history as Catholics,” says Jeanne Atkinson, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. “It’s everything from the Jewish people’s exile in Exodus to the holy family’s flight to Egypt…This is who we are as American Catholics. We ...

“He was a deep thinker and a great writer, “ observes legal correspondent Tim O’Brien, “and he had an enormous impact on the thinking of his fellow justices…His vote will be lost. For conservatives, that’s a big loss."