Ruth Gledhill

100 years after being martyred, Syriac Catholic to be beatified

Thousands of Syrian and Iraqi Christians who have fled the atrocities of Islamic State are expected to attend the beatification of a Syriac Catholic bishop later this month.
$How Pope Francis swapped a career in medicine to \'heal souls\' instead$
How Pope Francis swapped a career in medicine to 'heal souls' instead

The nephew of Pope Francis has revealed how the future pontiff he broke the news to his mother that he was not after all going to be a doctor, but wished instead to be a priest.
Pope Francis to donate rare Bible to Library of Congress

The Pope is to present a rare illuminated modern edition of the Bible to the American people when he visits Capitol Hill to deliver his anticipated address to Congress next month.
Over Â£2 billion in UK aid sent to countries where Christians face persecution

The British taxpayer is helping alleviate suffering in four out of five of the countries listed as where Christians are most persecuted.
$ISIS \'cannot be reconciled with Islam\' says Turkey\'s religious authority$
ISIS 'cannot be reconciled with Islam' says Turkey's religious authority

The actions of Islamic State can never be reconciled with Islam, according to a report from the Turkish government.
$Chinese cross removal campaign is \'trampling on Christianity\' says Archbishop$
Chinese cross removal campaign is 'trampling on Christianity' says Archbishop

The head of the Anglican church in Hong Kong has spoken out against the campaign to remove crosses from churches in the Chinese province of Zhejiang.
$Hillsong NYC\'s gay couple say they have always been \'open and forthright\' about relationship$
Hillsong NYC's gay couple say they have always been 'open and forthright' about relationship

Two young, gay musical theatre stars known as the "Broadway boyfriends" have defended their years of service with the Hillsong church community in New York.
Homes built for the families of Coptic Christians martyred by ISIS

A leading US charity is building homes for the families of the 20 young Coptic Christians martyred by Islamic State earlier this year.
$The Church in the Middle East is \'dissolving in front of our eyes\' says Archbishop$
The Church in the Middle East is 'dissolving in front of our eyes' says Archbishop

The Christian Church is "dissolving" in front of the eyes of its own people in its ancient homelands in the Middle East, according to a senior Archbishop from the stricken nation.
$Pope Francis\' plummeting popularity is nothing to worry about$
Pope Francis' plummeting popularity is nothing to worry about

This was a good Pope. Now he has a measure of unpopularity, he has the chance to be a great one.
Kenyan evangelicals warn Obama not to use his visit to press for gay rights

Evangelical pastors in Kenya are lobbying US President Barack Obama not to press for the "gay agenda".
$Naive and out of touch? Leading evangelical bishop slates Pope\'s climate change encyclical$
Naive and out of touch? Leading evangelical bishop slates Pope's climate change encyclical

A leading evangelical Church of England bishop and a Labour member of the House of Lords have criticised the Pope's encyclical on the environment as a "naive" document that hankers for a lost world.