The government of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, led by the pro-Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)‎), passed a bill last week to check what it describes “forcible religious conversionsâ€. Cutting across party affiliations, the Freedom of Relig
Google on Monday paid homage to Sr. Ruth Pfau, the German-born Catholic nun credited with eradicating leprosy or Hansen’s disease from Pakistan. The tech giant marked the revered nun on her 90th birth anniversary with a Doodle.A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration o
After a wedding venue employee in Mississippi cited her Christian beliefs in refusing to host the wedding of a mixed-race couple, a Catholic scholar clarified that “marriage is a colorblind institution.â€â€œA man and a woman, regardless of their race, can unite as one-flesh as
Following a wave of xenophobic violence, South African police have arrested dozens of people and confirmed several deaths after riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria in recent days, when roving groups attacked shops mainly owned by migrants from the rest of Africa.Church leaders in
In a message for Sunday’s World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to make simple changes to their lives so that God’s creation is treated with respect.“Too many of us act like tyrants with regard to creation. Let us make an effort to ch
After a major scientific study found there is not a singular genetic marker for homosexualty, a Catholic theologian explained that the findings are fully in accord with Catholic teaching.The study was published Aug. 30 in Science. It examined data from several large genetic databanks in mult
Pope Francis begged the pardon of the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square Sunday, explaining that he was late because he had gotten stuck in a Vatican elevator and had to wait for help from the fire department.“First of all, I have to apologize for the delay, but there was an a
The spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion began a three-day visit to Sri Lanka on Thursday, paying homage to the memory of the victims of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.Soon after his arrival, English Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury visited St. Sebastian's Church in
Colombia's Bishops say that arms and violence can only cause destruction, pain and death, and that nothing can justify returning to war.In a note released on Thursday, the Bishops assure the people of Colombia that “peace is possibleâ€.“We encourage and accompany all
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by Iran-backed Houthi Shiite Muslim rebels who control much of the country's north. Since 2015, a Western-backed Saudi-led Sunni Muslim coalition that includes the UAE, allied with Yemen's internationally recogni