Some Holy Land sites reopen as Christians mark Good Friday

Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday this year amid signs the coronavirus crisis is winding down.

US church membership falls below 50% for 1st time in nearly a century

For the first time since the late 1930s, less than half of Americans say they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque, according to a new Gallup poll.

Missouri pastor on leave after telling wives to 'lose weight,' strive to look like Melania Trump

A Missouri pastor is on leave and in counseling after he told his congregation in a sermon last month that wives should make themselves sexually available to their husbands, "lose weight," and look less "butch."

Pope Francis holds historic, symbolic meeting with top Iraq Shiite cleric

Pope Francis and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric have delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence, urging Muslims to embrace Iraq’s long-beleaguered Christian minority during a historic meeting.

In visit to Baghdad, Pope Francis urges Iraq to embrace its Christians

Pope Francis has urged Iraqis to treat their Christian brothers as a precious resource to protect, not an “obstacle” to eliminate as he opens the first-ever papal visit to Iraq.

Ashes to be sprinkled over parishioners' heads during pandemic Ash Wednesday

The coronavirus pandemic will change the way ashes are distributed to Christians worldwide on Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season.

Joe Biden attends service at St. Matthews

President-Elect Joe Biden - who is making history as the nation's second Catholic president - attended services at St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral in DC ahead of the Inauguration on Wednesday.

Pope Francis says women can read at Mass, but still can't be priests

Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly allow women to do more things during Mass, while reaffirming they cannot be priests.

Pope prays for dead in Capitol rioting, appeals for calm

Pope Francis said Sunday that he is praying for those who died in the U.S. Capitol rioting and has appealed for calm to prevail in the United States to help safeguard that nation's democratic values.

NIH Director tells churches to stay closed as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise in US

His warning comes after a national group that represents more than 20,000 evangelical Christian health care professionals recently urged churches to halt in-person services as coronavirus cases surge across the United States.

Evangelical doctors’ group urges churches to halt in-person services amid COVID-19 surge

The Christian Medical & Dental Association urgently requested that churches strongly consider taking their services online and cancel in-person gatherings until the current surge of COVID-19 cases passes.

NBA players, Pope Francis discuss social justice at Vatican

Five NBA players have met with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss social justice. Marco Belinelli, Sterling Brown, Jonathan Isaac, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver were joined in the audience Monday by NBA players' union union executive director Michele Roberts.

Pope Francis ends public audiences, eyes Christmas as virus surges

Ambassadors to the Vatican were informed recently that Christmas would be essentially a virtual affair for the diplomatic corps this year.