Pope Francis on Wednesday permanently removed a German bishop from his Limburg diocese after his 31 million-euro ($43-million) new residence complex caused an uproar among the faithful. Francis had temporarily expelled Monsignor Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from Limburg in October pending a church inquiry.
An ancient relic that many Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s “Crown of Thorns” has made a special public appearance at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The collapse of the economy in 2008 left a wide swath of destruction ranging from small businesses to homes and even churches. Christ Lutheran Church survived the downturn and, thanks to donations from the estates of two members of the congregation, the church is becoming debt-free.
It was a celebration filled with prayer, music, singing, blessings and, even handfuls of candy flung forward by members of the congregation.
The Ramakrishna-Vedanta Center, 10732 Balsam Creek Road, will have a lecture on “Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna” by Swami Atmavidyananda, arati, singing and meditation beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday. A potluck will follow (702-646-4889).
A popular satirical musical about Mormon missionaries will play next year in Salt Lake City, just down the street from the worldwide headquarters of the faith it’s mocking.
Pope Francis confessed Thursday that he took the rosary cross of his late confessor from his casket and wears it to this day in a fabric pouch under his cassock. He said he did so telling the late priest, “Give me half your mercy.”
Pope Francis’ weekly Sunday blessing took those in attendance a bit off guard as he mispronounced a word in Italian, which was mistaken for a profanity.
Grace Presbyterian Church will present a Hymn Festival at 5 p.m. Sunday at the church’s Central Campus Sanctuary, 1515 W. Charleston Blvd. The festival will feature brass, timpani, organ and a mass choir from local congregations. A freewill offering will be taken (702-384-4554).
The Mormon Church is pushing back against the notion that members of the faith are taught they’ll get their own planet in the afterlife, a misconception popularized in pop culture most recently by the Broadway show “The Book of Mormon.”
A new Gallup survey shows 60 percent of Utah residents identify as Mormon and about 4 percent to 5 percent of Nevada residents are Mormon.
Zion Blick touched the hearts of millions before he died last month at 10 days old. He had been deemed unfit to live, but his parents decided to keep him with them for as long as possible. His mother recently explained the decision in an essay for Today.com.
Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say “weeps” oil.
St. James the Apostle Catholic Church, 1920 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., will have its annual revival at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday. The revival will feature Deacon Doug Johnson, his wife, Sheree Brown, and music by Susan Braire and the St. James Gospel Choir. Soup and chili will be served at 5 p.m. each day (702-648-6606).
The Vatican “systematically” adopted policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, a U.N. human rights committee said Wednesday, urging the Holy See to open its files on pedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes.
