Latest Religion News
Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims
HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — Paul Rytting listened as a woman, voice quavering, told him her story. When she was a child, her father, a former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had routinely slipped into bed with her while he was aroused, she said. ...
Takeaways from The AP's investigation into the Mormon church's handling of sex abuse cases
HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — Paul Rytting had been director of the Risk Management Division at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for around 15 years when a 31-year-old church member told him that her father, a former bishop, had sexually abused her when she was a child. ...
In US, some Muslim-Jewish interfaith initiatives are strained by Israel-Hamas war
Shireen Quaizar was wracked with doubt. For years, the school psychologist has been active in Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue, but the Israel-Hamas war left her reeling. “What are we doing with talking to each other?” she recalled thinking, frustrated by a conversation about...
Pope Francis says he's doing better but again skips his window appearance facing St. Peter's Square
VATICAN CITY (AP) — For a second Sunday, an ailing Pope Francis skipped his popular window appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square, but in televised remarks said he’s doing better even though his voice wouldn't let him read all his comments aloud. As he did a week...
Philippine president blames foreign militants for a bombing that killed 4 Christian worshippers
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president blamed “foreign terrorists” for a bomb blast that killed four people Sunday, wounded dozens of other Catholic worshippers in the south and sparked a security alarm, including in the capital, Manila, where state forces were put on alert. ...
In Mexico, a Japanese traditional dancer shows how body movement speaks beyond culture and religion
MEXICO CITY (AP) — When music requires her to cry, Japanese traditional dancer Naoko Kihara barely alters her expression. It’s her arms and torso that move like a slow-motion wave. “Expression is minimal because we cry with our body,” said Kihara, wrapped in her white and...
Send-offs show Carlton Pearson's split legacy spurred by his inclusive beliefs, rejection of hell
Before his peers would label him a heretic, the late Bishop Carlton D. Pearson was once one of the best known preachers in the nation. His skilled biblical oration, steeped in the Black Pentecostal tradition and melded with white evangelicalism, helped swell the membership of the...
Pilgrims yearn to visit isolated peninsula where Catholic saints cared for Hawaii's leprosy patients
KALAUPAPA, Hawaii (AP) — Kalaupapa beckoned to Kyong Son Toyofuku. She had long prayed to visit the hard-to-reach Hawaiian peninsula, trapped by its deep-green, sheer sea cliffs and rugged, black rock shores that glisten under the Pacific’s pristine waters. As a daily Mass-going...
Pilgrims yearn to visit isolated peninsula where Catholic saints cared for Hawaii's leprosy patients
KALAUPAPA, Hawaii (AP) — Kalaupapa beckoned to Kyong Son Toyofuku. She had long prayed to visit the hard-to-reach Hawaiian peninsula, trapped by its deep-green, sheer sea cliffs and rugged, black rock shores that glisten under the Pacific’s pristine waters. As a daily Mass-going...
Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 18 months for film violations but still not charged over mass graves
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The leader of a doomsday cult in Kenya was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for the illegal distribution of films and operating a film studio without licenses. The senior magistrate in the city of Malindi, Olga Onalo, handed down the sentence for Paul...
