
The Iranian government has accused Saudi Arabia of “deliberately” bombing its embassy in Yemen’s capital of Sana’a in an air raid Wednesday night, leaving buildings damaged and a number of staff wounded. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari,
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.7 Jan 2016, 4:37 AM PST0

In a deepening regional rift, the nation of Qatar has severed diplomatic relations with Iran, joining Bahrain, Kuwait and Sudan in backing Saudi Arabia. Qatar is the latest country to recall its ambassador to Iran following the attacks on Saudi
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.7 Jan 2016, 1:20 AM PST0

On the Christian feast of the Epiphany, the commemoration of the visit of the three “kings,” or “wise men,” to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, Pope Francis underscored the need to lift one’s gaze above the daily cares of this world to discover God.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.6 Jan 2016, 2:17 PM PST0

The British mother of “Jihadi Junior” underwent an exorcism because she thought she was possessed by evil spirits sent by Allah, according to new reports. The 24-year-old Grace “Khadijah” Dare was raised in a Christian family of Nigerian descent, but
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.6 Jan 2016, 8:27 AM PST0

Exactly one year after the notorious Paris jihadist attacks on the offices of the French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, the journal has released an anniversary issue depicting a cover drawing of God toting an AK-47 on his back with the
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.6 Jan 2016, 7:46 AM PST0

Without directly referencing their breakdown in diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, Iranian authorities have reportedly ruled to suspend the “lesser” yearly pilgrimage to Mecca – according to the AINA news agency. The report suggests that the pilgrimage, known as the
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.6 Jan 2016, 3:35 AM PST0

As Christians around the world prepare for the canonization of Mother of Teresa of Calcutta, Salon Magazine has responded as one might expect: by smearing the Nobel laureate who spent her entire adult life serving the poorest of the poor.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.5 Jan 2016, 5:16 AM PST0

As migration attempts to cross the Aegean Sea into Europe continue unabated, the bodies of at least 21 migrants drowned in a shipwreck were found at dawn Tuesday on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Local news agencies have reported that a
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.5 Jan 2016, 3:12 AM PST0

On Tuesday, European stock markets rose slightly early in the morning after a steep decline in China’s market Monday took global stocks spiraling after it. In early gains, Paris rose 0.36%, Frankfurt 0.31%, Milan 0.94% and London 0.71%, while the
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.5 Jan 2016, 2:52 AM PST0

A completely naked man wearing only a pair of sneakers and a backpack went streaking through Saint Peter’s Basilica Monday afternoon, until he was finally apprehended by members of the Vatican gendarmerie, or police force. The man is reportedly an
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.5 Jan 2016, 1:34 AM PST0

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told an audience Saturday that while the United States was intentionally founded without an established church, it was never intended to be “neutral” toward religion itself.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.4 Jan 2016, 10:07 AM PST0

The Rev. Mpho Tutu, daughter of Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Capetown, married her longtime lesbian lover Marceline van Furth in a small private ceremony last Wednesday. Tutu, who was previously married to Joseph Burris and
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.4 Jan 2016, 7:53 AM PST0

Music and film “bad girl,” Madonna, is finding out that what goes around comes around as her teenage children rebel against her controlling parenting style, according to new reports.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.4 Jan 2016, 6:32 AM PST0

In his weekly Angelus message Sunday, Pope Francis continued his reflections on the meaning of Christmas, reminding his hearers that on coming into the world Jesus was rejected, and that we too must make a choice whether or not to accept him.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.3 Jan 2016, 6:36 AM PST0

As the fifth anniversary of the social media-driven Arab Spring uprisings approaches, Egyptian authorities have arrested three influential Facebook administrators, accusing them of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. On Saturday Egypt’s Interior Ministry charged two men and one woman,
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.3 Jan 2016, 5:23 AM PST0

In the face of growing tensions due to the violence spread in the name of God by Islamist jihadists, it can be tempting to simply try to stifle all religion, a temptation that the French bishops are calling “an illusion and a mistake.”
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.2 Jan 2016, 3:07 PM PST0

In a meeting with youth this week, Pope Francis was asked what, as a child, he had desired to be when he grew up, to which he offered the surprising response that he had wanted to be a butcher.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.2 Jan 2016, 1:55 PM PST0

In his New Year’s address Friday, Pope Francis said that despite many negative signs that make us think God is absent in the world, His mercy is the only thing capable of overcoming the misery that threatens our world.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.2 Jan 2016, 12:27 PM PST0

Although there has been rivalry among the various jihadist groups training and recruiting in North Africa, new pacts and agreements among the different strains of radical Islam have resulted in deeper collaboration, a harbinger of more trouble for those fighting the terrorists.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.2 Jan 2016, 11:16 AM PST0

A peculiar essay in The New York Times Saturday draws a series of parallels between the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and Western conservatives, including patriotism, an appreciation for child-bearing, and a distrust of radical secularism.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.2 Jan 2016, 8:19 AM PST0

The celebrated historian and British parliamentarian Hilaire Belloc was convinced in his day that Europe and America had forgotten about Islam to their own peril, and were unaware that the Muslim religion could rise again and would pose perhaps the greatest threat of any enemy of the western world.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.31 Dec 2015, 10:24 AM PST0

The year 2015 will go down in memory as a period of unprecedented Christian persecution throughout the world, resulting in thousands of deaths along with continuous targeted acts of violence and terror.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.31 Dec 2015, 3:28 AM PST0

Catholic Cardinal Daniel Sturla wants “flexibility” in the application of a new law requiring zero blood alcohol for Uruguayan drivers, insisting that priests who say Mass necessarily consume some wine during the ceremony.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.30 Dec 2015, 9:48 AM PST0

Tsoi Wing-mui, author of The Secret Emotional Life of Zhou Enlai, argues that despite his many years of marriage, Zhou had an enduring romantic relationship with Li Fujing. “Zhou Enlai was a gay politician who had the misfortune of being born 100 years early,” Tsoi writes in her book.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.30 Dec 2015, 9:43 AM PST0

A priest in the Philippines who rode around his church on a hoverboard at the end of Christmas mass has been temporarily suspended by his diocese for a period to “reflect” on his actions.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.30 Dec 2015, 4:50 AM PST0