Pope Francis recently acknowledged that the Catholic Church is struggling to recruit new priests, endangering its very future. Why don’t people want to join the clergy?
Oscar Romero’s canonization is controversial. The process stalled in the Vatican for decades.
Jose Cabezas/Reuters
On March 24, 1980, an outspoken Salvadoran bishop was murdered after decrying his country’s military regime. Thirty-eight years and one civil war later, Pope Francis is set to declare him a saint.
The first Islamist attack carried out by Mozambicans in the country is particularly surprising given the pride the country takes in its sound and relaxed inter-religious relations.
The Virgin Mary may not be able to pull Brazil out of a deep recession, but her church-sponsored house calls do wonders to ease economic malaise among participating Catholic families.
Pilar Olivares/Reuters
For a century, Brazil’s Catholic Church has sent holy statues out to parishioners’ homes. A new study finds that these visits create a local subeconomy, benefitting families and the church.
Lawmaker: my views have nothing to do with the law.
Jonathan Brady/PA
Voting on this issue is a matter of conscience, so the MP’s view that women shouldn’t be allowed to terminate pregnancies, even when they’ve been raped, is very relevant to the rest of society.
The changing pattern of the diversity of religious identities is one indicator of a society’s degree of multicultural composition. On this measure, Australia is among the most diverse.
Muslims praying in Puerto Rico.
AP Photo/Tomas van Houtryve
As Catholicism teaches abstinence before marriage, there is a common perception that Catholic schools would be places without hookup culture. Does faith make a difference?
How can a Pope not believe in God? Jude Law as Pius XIII in The Young Pope.
Wildside,imdb
The Pope hasn’t actually opened the door for married priests. But in rethinking celibacy, he has shown his mastery of the art of containing people without actually making big changes to the Church.
Blood on the streets: the 1572 St Bartholomew’s Day massacre.
Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre by Francois Dubois via Wikimedia Commons
At many Spanish missions in the US and Latin America, the rising sun illuminates the altar on the winter solstice or other symbolic days. To the faithful, these events meant that Christ was with them.