Faith - Page 120

The government of Sri Lanka announced this weekend it would implement a nationwide ban on burqas, Islamic coverings for women that shield the entire face, arguing the garment presents “national security” risks.

The Vatican’s doctrinal office stated Monday that the Church has no power to bless homosexual unions, noting that God Himself “does not and cannot bless sin.”

The former spokesman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India said this week that a new anti-conversion law in India is a “ready-made tool” for those who wish to persecute Christians.

Pope Francis celebrated the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity to the Philippines Sunday, urging his hearers to preach the gospel without proselytizing.

Hundred of thousands of Hindu pilgrims packed the banks of the Ganges River in northern India on Thursday for a chance to bathe in the sacred waterway as part of the major Kumbh Mela Hindu festival.

Christopher Rufo of the City Journal is warning about an ethnic studies curriculum that includes chanting to ancient Aztec gods.

The leaders of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference (USCCB) blasted the Democrats’ passage of the American Rescue Plan on Wednesday, noting it lacked “critical protections” to protect taxpayers from financing abortions.

Armed members of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) killed at least 29 people after storming a church in East Welega, located in the Oromia region of central Ethiopia, last week, the Addis Standard reported on Tuesday. The attack took place

ROME — The Iraqi government prevented Jews from attending events during Pope Francis’s historic visit to the country, the Jerusalem Post contends.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill into law Tuesday that will ban most abortions in the state except those to save the life of the mother.

ROME — Pope Francis said Wednesday the Iraqi people have been carrying a “huge cross” for years, suffering ongoing “violence, persecution, and exile.”

JERUSALEM — Half a year after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel, discreet Jewish communities in the Gulf Arab states that once lived in the shadow of the Arab-Israeli conflict are adopting a more public profile.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 8-1 in favor of a Christian student who was barred from sharing his faith at Georgia Gwinnett College in 2016.

A student organization at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, claims it was forced to cancel a pro-life event after facing pressure from the university chaplain.

Pope Francis told reporters aboard the papal plane returning from Iraq he plans to visit Budapest in September to celebrate the closing Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress, Vatican News reported Tuesday.

The Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda, said Sunday evening that Pope Francis’s visit to Iraq and the message he offered were a great gift to the entire nation.

Pope Francis urged Iraqi Christians in the beleaguered town of Qaraqosh Sunday to hold on to their hope in the ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ.

ROME — Pope Francis visited the war-torn city of Mosul on Sunday, warning the devastation of the Christian community is an incalculable loss for the country and the region.

Sen. Steve Daines rebuked Senate Democrats for allowing billions of taxpayer dollars to be used to fund abortion in the COVID bill.

The leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have united in a joint condemnation of the taxpayer-funded abortion included in the Democrats’ American Rescue Plan.

Pope Francis met with the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani in southern Iraq early Saturday and thanked him for his vocal defense of human life.

Russian authorities opened a criminal case this week against five Jehovah’s Witnesses on suspicion of “organizing and participating in the activities of an extremist organization” for allegedly promoting their namesake religious group, which is officially outlawed as an “extremist ideology” in Russia.

Pope Francis addressed an interreligious gathering on the Plain of Ur in Iraq Saturday, calling for unity among all who believe in the God of Abraham.

A team of prominent Catholic scholars and bioethicists have published an analysis “to explain why it is morally acceptable for pro-life citizens to receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines currently available.”

ROME — Pope Francis met with Iraqi Catholics in Baghdad Friday, urging them to be strong and hopeful even in the midst of ongoing sufferings.

ROME — Pope Francis touched down in Iraq Friday to begin a three-day visit with a focus on inter-religious harmony and peace.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said the COVID Relief bill provides $400 billion with no protections against its use to fund elective abortions.

The Arkansas legislature has voted to approve a measure that would ban nearly all abortions, except those to save the life of the mother.

The Orthodox Church of Cyprus has denounced “El Diablo” (The Devil), its country’s entry into the 2021 Eurovision song contest, calling for the song to be withdrawn due to its Satanic references.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, the chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Doctrine Committee, said Wednesday that Catholics should have no qualms of conscience in receiving the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

Pope Francis sent a video message to the Iraqi people Friday, declaring that Saturday he undertakes his journey to Iraq as a “pilgrim of peace.”

Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez has called on people of good will to step forward to protect the unborn, the most defenseless among us.

Bishop Rick Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, on Tuesday slammed President Joe Biden for his frequent rosary flaunting, asserting the Virgin Mary does not share his support for “unrestricted abortion.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki did not respond to a question on Tuesday about whether President Joe Biden would force doctors to perform abortions and transgender surgeries against their faith beliefs.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has urged Catholics to avoid the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, asserting it is “morally compromised” by the use of an abortion-derived cell line in its development and production.

ROME — Pope Francis said Wednesday he is traveling to Iraq this week come hell or high water to avoid letting the Iraqi people down.