Church

Pope Francis hints willingness to retire as he talks about 'time limit' for church posts
The Roman Catholic Church should not have leaders who cling to their positions for a long time similar to dictators, Pope Francis told Christians in Vatican City.

Pope heads to South America to champion the poor and the planet
Pope Francis leaves Rome on Sunday for his first trip to Spanish-speaking Latin America, a "homecoming" to a continent where he will champion the rights of the poor and of the planet.

Pope Francis to speak about 'protection of creation' in July 5-12 Latin America visit
Pope Francis is set to return to his home continent on Sunday on a swamped seven-day apostolic visit to Latin America's peripheries: Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay, with the pontiff expected to speak about the "protection of creation" and social justice.

Iraqi Christians' fate hangs in balance as they wait for West aid, Kurdish autonomy
The fate of Christians in Islamic State-ravaged Iraq hangs in the balance as the minority waits for the US and the West for help and hopes for the Kurdish Regional Government's support for their eventual autonomy.

Mexico: Three elderly nuns tied up, gagged and assaulted
Three elderly nuns have been tied up, gagged and assaulted in a village in Mexico, nine months after the parish priest in the same village was subject to a similar attack.

Exclusive: Most Catholics do not accept Church doctrine on contraception, divorce or cohabitation - study
Most Catholics do not accept Church doctrine on contraception, divorce and remarriage or cohabitation, a new study shows.

Darlene Zschech, Andrea Bocelli sing at prayer for persecuted church event hosted by Pope Francis
Australian worship leader Darlene Zschech will join renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli at an ecumenical prayer and worship event for the persecuted church hosted by Pope Francis at the Vatican today.

Pope Francis on Greece debt crisis: 'Human dignity must remain at centre of any debate'
Pope Francis has encouraged the faithful to pray for Greece and her people amid the country's debt crisis and maintained that dignity should be the heart of political debates.

Pistol-packing US bishop: 'We're not going to turn the other cheek while you shoot us'
A church in Jackson, Michigan has chosen to guard their congregation through a secret armed security team embedded among the parishioners following the June 17 shootings in a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina that killed NUMBER people.

Church of England leadership shake up continues: Evangelical given traditionally Anglo-Catholic post
A sixth woman bishop has been appointed in the Church of England, along with a male evangelical into a post once associated traditional Anglo-Catholicism.

Church of England divests from oil firm over 'allegations of corruption'
The Church of England has decided to sell all its shares in the British oil company SOCO International following a series of allegations of bribery, corruption and human rights abuses.

Fires at black churches in America's southern states fan racial fears
Some were deliberately lit. Others were caused by an electrical fault or lightning. But regardless of the origins, a spike in fires at black churches is fraying nerves at a time of heightened racial tensions across the United States.

ISIS executes 160 children and women for refusing to fast during Ramadan, sorcery
The jihadist group Islamic State has executed more than three thousand people in their bid to spread terror not only in the Middle East but around the world, exempting no one as victims include 160 children and women.

Episcopal Church confirms change in law to allow same-sex marriages
The US Episcopal Church changed its law to allow clergy to perform same-sex marriages last night, not pulling back from the move despite the "deep concern" expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Israel vows to improve protection of its Christian community following attacks
The Israeli government has vowed to step up its efforts in protecting its very own Christian community following attacks by fringe groups in some Christian areas in the past few years, according to a report.

Are US Churches shifting their allegiance on Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
The United Church of Christ voted yesterday to divest from companies deemed to have profited from the occupation of Palestinian territories.