Faith & Family
Purim parties shift to bomb shelters as Israelis celebrate under Iran war threat
The Purim holiday is usually marked with boisterous street parades and costume parties to celebrate the Jewish victory over an ancient Persian ruler. This year, the celebrations moved into fortified bomb shelters as the country wages war against Iran's modern-day leaders.
Pediatric trials aim to expand GLP-1 weight loss drugs to younger children
Pediatric trials are quietly underway to support prescribing GLP-1 medications for obesity in children under 12, despite concerns about their long-term effects on developing bodies.
Faith, risk and resistance: Clergy draw on centuries of martyrdom to justify their activism today
As a scholar of religious ethics, I am interested in how Christian clergy and thinkers consider personal risk when they feel called to engage in social action.
What to know about Holi, the Hindu festival of colors
Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance.
Supreme Court: California parents have a right to know whether child is transitioning in school
The Supreme Court sided with parents Monday in a legal fight over California's requirement public school teachers keep gender transitions secret from the students' parents.
In Minnesota, U.S. cardinals, pope’s ambassador decry mass deportations, call for reconciliation
Two American cardinals and the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S. denounced the mass deportations in Minnesota under the federal government's immigration crackdown, but they urged everyone to repair strained relations and work together toward humane solutions.
Justice Dept. charges 30 more people over anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department is charging 30 additional people in connection with a January anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest at Cities Church in Minnesota.
Christianity’s ‘hidden’ texts may not be in the Bible - but they have shaped tradition
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Israel’s parliament moves toward ban on mixed-gender prayer at Jerusalem’s Western Wall
Israel's parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill that would put the country's Orthodox chief rabbinate in charge of the entire Western Wall in Jerusalem, raising fears among liberal Jews that mixed-gender prayer at the site will soon be outlawed.
Pope Leo will visit 4 African countries as part of his packed 2026 travel plan
The Vatican on Wednesday announced a busy and lengthy foreign travel schedule for Pope Leo XIV in the first half of 2026, confirming the pontiff will visit Monaco, Spain and four African nations - Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Two-child household needs nearly a half-million dollars a year for child care, study finds
A two-child household must earn more than $400,000 a year to keep child care costs at or below the federal affordability guideline (no more than 7% of income), according to a new study by LendingTree.
Why Baptists are on both sides of the Ten Commandments school debate
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Catholic leaders pushed Newsom to pardon attempted murderer as defiance of ICE
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was relying on Catholic Church leaders' assurances when he pardoned an attempted murder convict, protecting him from deportation.
Catholic Italy’s Olympic host cities offer different access for Muslims to observe Ramadan
This year's Olympic and Paralympic Games are located in Italy, a historically Catholic nation. And they coincide with Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that's a time for dawn-to-dusk fasting, religious reflection and communal celebration.
As antisemitism rises and strife over Israel continues, Josh Shapiro turns toward his Jewish faith
Thousands of teenagers from more than a dozen countries, many standing on their chairs in a cavernous convention hall, screamed and cheered as Josh Shapiro took the stage.
Israeli settlers torch and deface a West Bank mosque during Ramadan
Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Monday, spray-painting offensive phrases and setting a fire, according to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Display of St. Francis of Assisi’s bones confirms enduring appeal of relics for Christians
The bones of St. Francis of Assisi went on public display for the first time Sunday, capping an 800-year saga over his bodily remains and confirming the enduring appeal to Christians of venerating a saint's relics.
Scan a QR code, hear Mass in your language: Vatican embraces AI translation
People hearing services at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City soon can have the liturgy translated into one of 60 languages by artificial intelligence.
The bones of St. Francis are going on public display, a mixed blessing for Assisi
The bones of St. Francis of Assisi, the medieval friar who inspired Pope Francis and generations of Christians before him, are going on public display for the first time, giving his hilltop Umbrian hometown yet another reason to welcome pilgrims.
Louisiana wins appeal to post Ten Commandments in schools
A federal appeals court gave the green light Friday to a law pushing the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools in Louisiana, saying the challenge to the policy was not yet "ripe" for a decision.
