Religion News Service

An undocumented woman living in an Ohio church to avoid deportation met with Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Oct. 15, one of several Democratic White House hopefuls now signaling support for her cause and the New Sanctuary Movement.

While the focus of the synod this month in Rome has been on the needs of the Amazon region, an American bishop at the meeting has suggested the synod can enrich the rest of the church and the world.

A comment last week by candidate Beto O'Rourke that churches and faith-based institutions should lose their tax-exempt status if they don't support same-sex marriage has brought criticism from two of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination.

As the Amazonian bishops come to the end of their first week of meetings in Rome discussing the issues facing their region, they were united in condemning attacks on the rainforest and the indigenous peoples.

The first working session of the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon began on Oct. 7, with a call from a leading Latin American cardinal for new pathways in service to indigenous peoples and protection of the rainforest.

About 300 Latino Catholic theologians and activists will hold a teach-in in El Paso, Texas, this weekend (Oct. 11-13) on immigration reform, organizing around the 2020 U.S. Census and undermining white supremacy.

More than 90 Christian leaders are calling for a National Day of Prayer this Sunday (Oct. 13) "for the truth to be revealed through the impeachment inquiry" into whether President Donald Trump solicited help from a foreign government for his 2020 reelection campaign.

At the Mass opening the Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region, Pope Francis urged the assembled bishops to embrace "daring prudence," rather than settle for the status quo.

Catholic clergy from around the world are arriving in Rome this week for the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, which begins Oct. 6.

The two Jesuits share a pastoral approach that stresses compassion and accompaniment rather than condemnation and exclusion.

Thailand, a Buddhist-majority country best known for its nightlife and street food, may not look like a natural destination for a papal visit.

When reading Christian children’s books with his three children, Matthew Paul Turner found himself having to think on the fly.

As the world approaches a tipping point in the climate change crisis, many people finally appear to be waking up to the need for radical change.

Ismail Alghazali has never met his 5-month-old daughter.

"I live in darkness, and my family is my only light," said Alghazali, a Yemeni American who works at a Brooklyn bodega and has not seen his wife and two young children in more than a year.

As the latest wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa dies out, churches in the country and others on the continent are demanding an end to the persistent problem, affecting economic migrants in one of Africa's biggest economies.

Three years ago, the Boston Archdiocese became the country's first to undertake a major effort to make its archive accessible online; now a major expansion is starting in collaboration with American Ancestors.

A new study by the Christian research firm Barna Group suggests that many people aged 18 to  35 worldwide have anxiety and that faith can be an asset when dealing with mental health concerns.

The United Methodist Church’s deadline for petitions for its next global meeting passed Sept. 18, setting the terms for a final reckoning with LGBTQ issues that have divided the denomination for more than 40 years. 

Following an attempt by the Vatican to exercise control over its upcoming and reform-driven gathering, the Catholic Church in Germany has made it clear that it has no intention of backing down, proving to be yet another wedge in the internal church wars that have plagued Pope Francis' six-year papacy.

For Pope Francis, the Amazon is important because it touches on so many themes of his papacy: concern for the marginalized, evangelization and protection of the environment.