Pope Francis offered Christmas wishes Wednesday for a better world, praying for protection for Christians under attack, battered women and trafficked children, peace in the Middle East and Africa, and dignity for refugees fleeing misery and conflict around the globe.
The United Methodist church defrocked a pastor from central Pennsylvania on Thursday for violating doctrine by officiating his son’s gay marriage, leaving the minister shocked and upset that he could be punished for an “act of love.”
Time magazine selected Pope Francis as its Person of the Year on Wednesday, saying the Catholic Church’s new leader has changed the perception of the 2,000-year-old institution in an extraordinary way in a short time.
More than three decades after reversing its prohibition of black having the priesthood, the Mormon church has disavowed the ban, saying it was put into place during an era of great racial divide that influenced early teachings of the church.
Speaking in St. Peter’s Square Pope Francis was joined by a little boy who wandered on stage during a “Family Day” celebration.
Dressed in a lace gown designed in the 1840s and doused with water from the River Jordan, 3-month-old Prince George, third in line to the British throne, was christened Wednesday in London.
The number of Mormon missionaries surpassed 75,000 worldwide in August, driven by the church’s decision to lower the minimum age for ambassadors of the Utah-based faith.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Pope Francis showed his rebel side Thursday, urging young Catholics to shake up the church and make a “mess” in their dioceses by going out into the streets to spread the faith. It’s a message he put into practice by visiting one of Rio’s most violent slums and opening the church’s World Youth Day on a rain-soaked Copacabana Beach.
Pope Francis on Friday cleared Pope John Paul II for sainthood, approving a miracle attributed to his intercession and setting up a remarkable dual canonization along with another beloved pope, John XXIII.
