Churches & Religion

Ruben Enaje, center, remains on the cross flanked by two other devotees during the reenactment of Jesus Christ’s sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals in San Pedro Cutud, north of Manila, Philippines, Friday, March 29, 2024. Filipino villager Ruben Enaje was nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea. (AP Photo/Gerard V.

A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace

March 29, 2024, 8:28am Churches & Religion

A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea. Read story

A priest holds a cross during a Good Friday ceremony outside Notre Dame cathedral , as part of Easter celebrations, Friday, March 29, 2024 in Paris.

In Jerusalem, Palestinian Christians observe scaled-down Good Friday celebrations

March 29, 2024, 8:18am Churches & Religion

Hundreds of Christians participated in a customary Good Friday procession through the limestone walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, commemorating one of the faith’s most sacred days with noticeably thinner crowds amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Read story

In this image made available by Vatican Media, Pope Francis kisses the foot of a woman inmate of the Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024, a ritual meant to emphasize his vocation of service and humility. The Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony is a hallmark of every Holy Week and recalls the foot-washing Jesus performed on his 12 apostles at their last supper together before he was crucified.

Pope, looking strong, washes feet of 12 women at Rome prison from his wheelchair

March 28, 2024, 4:53pm Churches & Religion

Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison during a Holy Thursday ritual meant to emphasize his vocation of service and humility. Read story

Pope Francis smiles as he waves faithful at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Pope Francis skips Palm Sunday homily at start of busy Holy Week that will test his health

March 25, 2024, 7:59am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health. Read story

Khammai Sayakoummane, center, places a Tibetan scarf on the Birthplace of Antioch marker March 16 during the “May We Gather” pilgrimage in Antioch, Calif. The event aimed to use karmic cleansing through chants, prayer and testimony to heal racial trauma caused by anti-Chinese discrimination in Antioch in the 1870s. (Godofredo A.

Buddhists use karmic healing on anti-Asian hate

March 23, 2024, 6:03am Churches & Religion

For one afternoon, on Antioch’s main street and tranquil riverbank, the fragrance of burning incense was paired with the sound of Buddhist and Tao chants. Their cumulative calming energy was meant to be a balm of sorts to soothe the racial and religious hate that cast a shadow on Antioch’s… Read story

Fasting at school? More Muslim students in the US are getting support during Ramadan

From left, Adam Mortada and his older brother Hussein Mortada stand outside Dearborn High School on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 in Dearborn Mich. In Dearborn, where nearly half the 110,000 residents are of Arab descent – public school teachers and staff strive to make things easier for students observing Ramadan. Hussein is a senior at Dearborn High School and says everyone in his family is fasting during Ramadan.

While Muslim students remain a rarity in many U.S. school districts, they are a major presence in some communities, prompting public schools to be more attentive to their needs during the holy month of Ramadan when dawn-to-sundown fasting is a duty of Islam. Read story

Victims of sex abuse by Catholic nuns speak out

In a recent lawsuit, Gabrielle Longhi alleges she was sexually abused at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Md. The sexual abuse of children by Catholic nuns often has been overlooked in the Catholic clergy abuse crisis, but survivors of nun abuse hope to raise awareness of the issue.

On Wednesdays, the support group meets over Zoom. The members talk about their lives, their religious families and their old parochial schools. But mostly, they are there to talk about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Catholic nuns. Read story