Puerto Rico: Still recovering from Maria, Catholics assess Fiona’s blow to church buildings
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports that just as Catholic organisations were making progress on repairing a few dozen of the 1,000 Catholic buildings damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Hurricane Fiona swept in…
Attacks target US Catholics: Bishops seek answers in vandalism of churches and symbols
ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, reports on the rising number of incidents targeting Catholic churches in the US…
Sri Lanka arrests top Muslim leader over 2019 Easter attacks
Colombo, Sri LankaAP Sri Lankan police on Saturday arrested a prominent Muslim lawmaker and his brother over suspected connections to the Easter Sunday suicide bombings in 2019 that killed 269 people. Rishad Bathiudeen is a former Cabinet minister who currently leads an opposition party in Sri Lanka’s Parliament. He and his brother, Reyaj Bathiudeen, were […]
Significant Sights: Why DC’S Basilica Of The National Shrine is worth a visit
CLEMENTE LISI, in an article first published on Religion Unplugged, writes about one of the US capital’s star religious sites…
Fire destroys much of 249-year-old church in California
San Gabriel, CaliforniaAP A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4am. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in one […]
Differing views: Denialism grows among Christians in Brazil despite climbing coronavirus cases
EDUARDO CAMPOS LIMA reports from Brazil on how church leaders are responding to the coronavirus pandemic…
Median length of sermons in US churches is 37 minutes, according to new analysis
The median length of a sermon given in US churches runs for 37 minutes, according to a new analysis of almost 50,000 online sermons. The Pew Research Centre study found that historically black Protestant churches had the longest sermons – a median of 54 minutes – while Catholic churches had the shortest with a median of […]
US CATHOLICISM: HAS DENYING COMMUNION LOST ITS POLITICAL LUSTRE?
JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, reports from the US where former Vice-President Joe Biden was recently denied the Catholic sacrament of Communion for his views on abortion…
Churches in Sri Lankan capital cancel Sunday mass due to threat
Colombo, Sir LankaReuters Sri Lanka’s Catholic churches have cancelled Sunday mass in the capital Colombo for a second straight week, citing foreign intelligence warnings of threats to worshippers in the wake of the deadly Easter bombings on churches and hotels. Sri Lankan security forces have said they were maintaining a high level of alert as […]