News
South Sudan faith leaders pray for peace agreement
The latest treaty is the second attempt for South Sudan to find peace after it became independent from Sudan in 2011.
Dead Sea Scroll fragments at Museum of the Bible found to be forged
Close to 70 items that have come on the market since 2002 as Dead Sea Scroll fragments appear to be suspect, one scholar said.
Eugene Peterson, author of The Message and pastor to pastors, dies at age 85
“I’ve loved being a pastor, almost every minute of it,” Peterson once told the Century.
Robert Wood Lynn, leader in religion scholarship, dies at age 93
In 15 years at the Lilly Endowment, he went beyond merely giving grants, fostering study of core issues in American religious life.
Hurricane-struck churches apply for FEMA aid
The possibility of federal funds paying to restore sanctuaries is a change from previous FEMA policy.
Pope accepts Washington cardinal Donald Wuerl’s resignation
Wuerl is one of the most prominent leaders affected in the clergy sexual abuse crisis roiling the Catholic Church.
Rohingya Muslims deported from India to Myanmar despite persecution fears
An estimated 700,000 Rohingya people have fled to Bangladesh to escape brutal violence by Myanmar’s military. Another 40,000 have taken refuge in India.
Episcopal Church backs new Lakota translation of prayer book
Funding liturgical translations also helps preserve indigenous languages at risk of being lost.
Syrian migrants build bridges with Swiss church
Anna Shammas and Rami Ziadeh are founders and pastors of an Arabic-speaking United Methodist congregation that reaches out to other migrants—and to the German-speakers in the church.
Global Peace Forum on Korea brings together diplomats, church leaders, and activists
It was the first time diplomats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea joined such an event.
U.S. Catholic bishops take steps to respond to sexual abuse crisis
Critics called on the bishops to allow outside investigators full access to church sexual abuse records and support changes to statutes of limitations.
Russian Orthodox challenge plan to grant autonomy to church in Ukraine
The church in Ukraine has been tied to the Moscow Patriarchate for hundreds of years, although many Ukrainian parishes have split off over the past two decades.
Israel to approve immigration for 1,000 Ethiopian Jews
Israel is home to approximately 144,000 Jews of Ethiopian descent, the majority of whom immigrated to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s.
New Testament and preaching scholar Gail O’Day dies at age 63
O’Day was known for her integrity in biblical interpretation.
Vatican and China make deal on bishops
The development comes nearly seven decades after the Holy See and Beijing severed official relations.
In Albania, new Turkish-funded mosque stirs old resentments
The Great Mosque of Tirana is being built in “neo-Ottoman” style—in a country that rebelled against Ottoman rule.
China continues efforts to exert party control over religious groups
The UN has received reports of Muslim minorities being detained; Christians recount churches raided, crosses destroyed, and Bibles burned.
U.S. funding cuts hurt Lutheran hospital, many services for Palestinians
Augusta Victoria Hospital is among six East Jerusalem hospitals in financial dire straits.
Pope summons bishops to address abuse
The call for the February meeting at the Vatican is believed to be the first of its kind.
Global Hindu gathering sparks debate over pride in religious identity
“I didn’t come here to find an echo chamber,” one attendee said.