Religion News Service

Seven years after the disappearance of an Italian Jesuit priest in Syria, family members and Vatican officials address his legacy and demand the truth about what happened to the thousands who vanished in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

Signs of the Times: Despite the terrible impact of COVID-19 on us, in what ways could the coronavirus change work, families and church for the better?

Catholic schools in Los Angeles county must now resume the fall year using distance learning, delaying previous plans to reopen their doors for in-person classes.

While Los Angeles public schools will remain online this fall, Catholic schools in the county still plan to reopen their doors for in-person classes.

Signs of the Times: The time is already past to admit that the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is a moral crisis, not simply a public health and economic crisis. 

As Californians once again reckon with their statues of Serra, the founder of what would become 21 missions along the California coast, Native people and Indigenous scholars say it's time for their voices to be heard and their existence to be recognized.

Signs of the Times: Going our own way, with total disregard for the desires and interests of other countries, we eschew multilateralism, whether in trade negotiations or dealing with climate change.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has temporarily shut down the Dakota Access pipeline for the latest twist in what activists and religious leaders have called a " spiritual battle."

Signs of the Times: Religious conservatives bet all their credibility on the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, who promised to appoint judges who would roll back the expansion of gay rights. This has been a costly bet that has alienated millions of young people from Christianity.

President Donald Trump has renewed outreach efforts to conservative Christians this week, targeting his most dedicated supporters in the wake of lagging poll numbers.

With COVID-19 restrictions preventing an intended in-person rally in Washington D.C., at least a million supporters of the Poor People's Campaign reportedly tuned in June 20 to watch a mix of live speeches and pre-recorded clips of liberal religious leaders calling for a "moral revolution" and the enactment of a sweeping policy agenda focused on the poor.

A conservative Catholic publication has sparked backlash after it released a video on June 11 referring to the African American archbishop of Washington as an "accused homosexual," a "Marxist" and an "African Queen."

Signs of the Times: In the streets of Washington, D.C., we have seen religion used as a political prop and we have seen it exercise its prophetic voice.

George Floyd was killed after employees at a convenience store owned by a Palestinian American Muslim called Minneapolis police over a suspected counterfeit $20 bill.

Informal evangelical Christian advisers to President Donald Trump have long championed religious freedom as a key issue that should be embraced by the administration, often arguing passionately against government infringement on religious activities.

Is Martin Gugino an Antifa provocateur? Or a beloved Catholic peace activist who was the victim of police brutality in Buffalo, New York?

For the Gwich'in Nation, the more-than-three-decade fight to defend the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge from oil development has prompted a spiritual and cultural renaissance in Alaska's rural villages.

I wish I could publish a blank column today. As a 75-year-old white guy, it is hard to know what to say in response to racism and police violence toward black men and women.

Across the country, the clergy took different approaches in their protesting.Some preferred to express solidarity from afar — from their pulpits or social media accounts. Others organized their own faith-based demonstrations. A few activist-minded believers decided to, as they described it, " use their privilege " to put their bodies on the line in confrontations with police. 

On June 1, President Donald Trump stood before the historic St. John's Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, D.C., and held aloft a Bible for cameras. Authorities had expelled at least one Episcopal priest and a seminarian from the church's patio.