Tina Chronopoulos, Binghamton University, State University of New York
In ancient Rome, male followers of the goddess Cybele, known as Galli, some of whom surgically removed their testicles, were often considered feminine.
Appeasement: Adolph Hitler meeting Cesare Orsenigo, the papal nuncio to Germany, in 1935.
US Holocaust Museum/Wikimedia Commons
Between 1939 and 1945, Pope Pius XII put the interests of the Catholic Church in Germany before the fate of European Jews.
Christian Palestinian tattoo artist Walid Ayash draws a tattoo on the arm of a Coptic Egyptian pilgrim on April 28, 2016, at his studio in Bethlehem.
Thomas Coex /AFP via Getty Images
Historically, many Christians got tattoos around Holy Week − usually a cross − to honor Christ’s martyrdom.
A priest and Catholic worshippers pray in front of an image of ‘Sangre de Cristo,’ burned in a fire on July 2020, at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua.
Oswaldo Rivas/AFP via Getty Images
Kai M. Thaler, University of California, Santa Barbara
When President Daniel Ortega returned to power in 2006, church figures supported him. Violent repression after the 2018 protests has soured the relationship and made clergy targets for intimidation.
Delegates attend the opening of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 4, 2023, at the Vatican.
Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Richard Wood, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality is attempting to move the church toward a more dialogue-based model of authority, a scholar of Catholicism explains.
Pope Francis (in white) at the opening session of a major congress on the Catholic Church’s future on 4 October 2023.
Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images
As the Synod of Bishops meets in Rome, a Catholic theologian explains the preparations that went into the consultative process and what it says about Pope Francis’ vision for the future church.
Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to meet the tiny Catholic community of Mongolia is drawing considerable interest.
Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
Hernias are common. Not all need surgery. Here’s what we know about hernias, who’s most at risk, and how they’re treated.
The shrine at Lourdes, France, where the Virgin Mary is venerated as ‘Our Lady of Lourdes,’ following several apparitions reported in 1858.
LandFoto/iStock / Getty Images Plus
The Vatican plans to set up an ‘observatory’ to investigate apparitions of the Virgin Mary. A scholar of global Christianity explains why this is a major shift in how apparitions are authenticated.
Mary is often depicted weeping, a reminder of the ‘Seven Sorrows’ the Bible recounts her suffering.
pratan ounpitipong/Moment via Getty Images
Marco Bellochio’s series is the latest interpretation of a murder that continues to haunt Italy.
Last week, Pope Francis repudiated a 500-year-old-decree justifying colonialism. This image is from last summer: at Lac Ste. Anne, Alta., in Canada.
(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation and Boké Saisi, The Conversation
The Vatican has repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, a 500-year-old decree used to justify settler colonialism. Scholar Veldon Coburn explains this symbolic victory and what still needs to happen.
Pope Francis at Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in February 2023.
Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty Images
Pell, often described as a conservative Catholic, was jailed for child sexual abuse in Australia in 2019 but maintained his innocence and was acquitted the following year.
Pope Francis.
Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images