Latest Religion News
Man who fired shotgun outside New York synagogue cited events in the Mideast, federal agent says
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A man who fired a shotgun into the air outside a synagogue in New York's capital city is an Iraqi-born U.S. citizen who told investigators he felt affected by events in the Middle East, a federal agent said in a court filing. No one was injured by the gunfire...
Harvard president apologizes for remarks on antisemitism as pressure mounts on Penn's president
WASHINGTON (AP) — Harvard University's president apologized as pressure mounted for the University of Pennsylvania's president to resign over their testimony at a congressional hearing on antisemitism that critics from the White House on down say failed to demonstrate they would stand up to...
Mormon church selects British man who converted to the faith as an adult for top governing body
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday that a man raised in England who converted to the faith as an adult will be the newest member of its top governing body, filling a vacancy created when a member died last month. Patrick Kearon,...
Pope Francis makes his first public appearances since being stricken by bronchitis
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday made his first public appearance outdoors since being stricken by bronchitis two weeks ago, which forced him to cancel a planned trip to the COP-28 climate conference in Dubai. The pope has been steadily recovering, and for the Dec. 8 holiday...
France's president visits Notre Dame a year before the fire-damaged cathedral's planned reopening
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron visited Notre Dame Cathedral on Friday, one year before its scheduled reopening in 2024. After a blaze burned through the roof and spire on April 15, 2019, Macron’s visits have become a tradition, with Friday marking his sixth to...
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
Dec. 1–7, 2023 A military cadet applies lipstick before a National Day parade in Bucharest, Romania. A ram travels in a rickshaw before a ram fighting competition in Lagos, Nigeria, and rainfall destroys a road in Gamba, Kenya. And Pope Francis is greeted by nuns...
What is Bodhi Day? And when do Buddhists celebrate it?
Buddhists around the world are celebrating Bodhi Day. Also called Buddha’s Enlightenment Day, it commemorates when Siddhartha Gautama attained awakening — or enlightenment — some 2,600 years ago, becoming the Buddha. When is Bodhi Day celebrated? ...
Man fires shotgun outside Jewish temple in upstate New York as Hanukkah begins, no one injured
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A man fired a shotgun twice outside a Jewish temple in upstate New York, hours before the start of Hanukkah on Thursday, then said “Free Palestine” as he was taken into custody, police said. No one was injured. The episode in the state capital of Albany took...
A milestone for Notre Dame: 1 year until cathedral reopens to public after devastating fire
PARIS (AP) — When flames tore into Notre Dame in 2019, people who worked in the cathedral felt orphaned. But as the world-famous Paris landmark's reopening draws closer, they are beginning to picture their return to the place they call home and are impatient to breathe life back into its repaired...
When is St. Nicholas Day? And how did this Christian saint inspire the Santa Claus legend?
NEW YORK (AP) — The white-bearded Christian saint whose acts of generosity inspired America’s secular Santa Claus figure is known worldwide — but Saint Nicholas' origin story is not. The legends surrounding jolly old St. Nicholas — celebrated annually on Dec. 6 — go way...
