Latest Christianity News

Pope greets Russian patriarch, criticized for 'naive' policy
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has sent a protocol greeting to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, assuring him of prayers on his patron's feast day and stressing the value of human life and wisdom, as the Vatican insists on maintaining cordial relations amid the war in Ukraine. ...

Released from Russia, Jehovah's Witness returns to Denmark
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Danish Jehovah’s Witness on Wednesday has returned to Denmark after spending five years in a Russian prison under Moscow’s crackdown on the religious group, the organization said. Russia officially banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017, and...

Top Southern Baptists plan to release secret list of abusers
Top administrative leaders for the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, said Tuesday that they will release a secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse. An attorney for the SBC's Executive...

Pelosi pushes back on archbishop who denies her Communion
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back Tuesday on the decision by San Francisco's conservative Catholic archbishop to deny her Communion over her support of abortion rights, saying she respects that people have opposing views but not when they impose them on others. ...

Buddhist chaplains on the rise in US, offering broad appeal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Wedged into a recliner in the corner of her assisted living apartment in Portland, Skylar Freimann, who has a terminal heart condition and pulmonary illness, anxiously eyed her newly arrived hospital bed on a recent day and worried over how she would maintain independence as...
Russia releases jailed Danish Jehovah's Witness, group says
MOSCOW (AP) — A Danish Jehovah’s Witness was released Tuesday after spending five years in a Russian prison under Moscow’s crackdown on the religious group and was to be sent home, the organization said. Russia officially banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017, and designated...
Pope offers solidarity to Gaylord, Michigan, after tornado
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is offering his condolences and solidarity to the people of Gaylord, Michigan, following a deadly tornado. The Vatican on Tuesday released a telegram signed by the Vatican secretary of state addressed to Gaylord Bishop Jeffrey Walsh saying Francis...
Churches of Serbia, North Macedonia, end decades-old dispute
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — The head of Serbia's Orthodox Church said Tuesday that he would recognize the full independence of the church in neighboring North Macedonia, signaling an end to a decades-old religious dispute. The Macedonian Church unilaterally announced its...

New Italian church head faces demands for abuse inquiry
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Tuesday named a bishop in his own image, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, as the new head of the Italian bishops conference, as the Italian Catholic Church comes under mounting pressure to confront its legacy of clerical sexual abuse with an independent inquiry. ...

Hong Kong Catholic cardinal denies charges over relief fund
HONG KONG (AP) — Arrested former Hong Kong Catholic leader Cardinal Joseph Zen and five others denied charges on Tuesday that they failed to register a relief fund aimed at assisting protesters who faced legal costs during 2019 anti-government protests. The six, who also include...
