Latest Religion News

Pope, upon doctor's advice, to skip Sunday public blessing; surgeon says recovery absolutely normal

Jun. 10, 2023 08:49 AM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, “wisely” following doctors’ advice, will skip Sunday’s customary public blessing to allow him to better heal after abdominal surgery earlier this week, his surgeon told reporters. Blood and imaging tests indicate that the 86-year-old pope's...

Can a chatbot preach a good sermon? Hundreds attend church service generated by ChatGPT to find out

Jun. 10, 2023 09:26 AM EDT

FUERTH, Germany (AP) — The artificial intelligence chatbot asked the believers in the fully packed St. Paul's church in the Bavarian town of Fuerth to rise from the pews and praise the Lord. The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by an avatar of a bearded Black man on a huge screen above...

Vatican: Pope sitting up, working from an armchair after abdominal surgery

Jun. 09, 2023 14:06 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was “progressively improving” and sitting in an armchair working Friday, following surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the Vatican said. After a restful night, Francis had breakfast and read the newspapers...

The Archdiocese of St. Louis will pay $1 million to settle a sex abuse lawsuit

Jun. 09, 2023 14:00 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Archdiocese of St. Louis will pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest who previously spent 12 years in prison for abusing another boy, an attorney for the victim said Friday. The plaintiff was an altar...

France hails 'hero with a backpack' who intervened in knife attack on very young children

Jun. 09, 2023 12:45 PM EDT

LE PECQ, France (AP) — The attacker slashed at the 24-year-old Catholic pilgrim with the knife that he used to savagely stab one young child after another. But rather than run, Henri held his ground — using a weighty backpack he was carrying to swing at the assailant and fend off his blade. ...

Delayed justice: 3 states remove all time limits on child sex abuse lawsuits

Jun. 09, 2023 08:52 AM EDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Ann Allen loved going to church and the after-school social group led by a dynamic priest back in the 1960s. The giggling fun with friends always ended with a game of hide and seek. Each week, the Rev. Lawrence Sabatino chose one girl to hide with him. Allen...

Pittsburgh synagogue trial is proving the obvious, but ultimately focused on the death penalty

Jun. 09, 2023 08:01 AM EDT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — One by one over the past two weeks, members of Jewish congregations in Pittsburgh have come to the witness stand in federal court and relived the horror of that October morning, when a gunman used high-powered weapons to kill 11 worshippers and badly injure others. ...

Archbishop of Canterbury urges Anglican Church of Uganda to reject anti-homosexuality law

Jun. 09, 2023 06:59 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — The archbishop of Canterbury has urged the Anglican Church of Uganda to reject the country’s new anti-homosexuality law, saying its support for the legislation was a “fundamental departure” from the global Anglican movement’s commitment to protect the dignity of all people....

How Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis talks about his own Catholic faith on the presidential campaign trail

Jun. 09, 2023 02:21 AM EDT

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — As Ron DeSantis wrapped up a 12-stop campaign tour that began in an Iowa evangelical church and ended here in a South Carolina convention center, dozens of pastors met backstage to pray for the presidential candidate. Later, to the 1,500 people in the auditorium, DeSantis...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis woos GOP Christian voters but stays tight-lipped on his own Catholic faith

Jun. 09, 2023 02:08 AM EDT

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — As Ron DeSantis wrapped up a 12-stop campaign tour that began in an Iowa evangelical church and ended here in a South Carolina convention center, dozens of pastors met backstage to pray for the presidential candidate. Later, to the 1,500 people in the auditorium, DeSantis...