News

Wedding on the wing: Pope Francis marries couple mid-air aboard the papal plane
The happy couple were stewards aboard the papal plane carrying Pope Francis on the next leg of what so far has been quite a difficult trip to South America.

UK should follow Trump and give aid directly to Middle Eastern churches, says former cabinet minister
A former cabinet minister has called on the UK government to follow Donald Trump's example and divert aid for the Middle East away from the United Nations and directly to persecuted religious groups on the ground.

What's it like to be lonely? A lesson from Genesis
Right at the beginning of the Bible, there's a bald statement about the nature of human beings: God creates Adam, but almost immediately says, 'It is not good for man to be alone.'

'Behold the life-giving cross': Reformation symbol placed in World Council of Churches chapel
A Salvadoran cross from Lund, the Swedish city where Lutherans and Catholics met at the end of 2016 to commemorate the 500th Reformation anniversary, has been placed in the World Council of Churches' (WCC) chapel in Geneva, Switzerland.

Chinese pastor who was 'hooded and tortured' ordered to hand over $1 million in church donations
A court in China's southern Guizhou province has ordered a house church pastor who had been hooded, detained and tortured to hand over more than a million US dollars worth of donations from Christians which officials have branded 'illegal income'.

US church takes in Albanian immigrant due for deportation next week
A church congregation in Detroit has announced that it is taking in an undocumented Albanian immigrant whom the US is seeking to deport next week even though his wheelchair-bound wife suffers from multiple sclerosis, USA Today reported.

St Peter's confession: How the 'rock' of the church got God so wrong
Today is the liturgical day of the Confession of Peter, marking the moment he declared Jesus to be the Messiah. He 'got it' right then, but the message of his life is really not one of success, but of consistent failure. And that's actually encouraging.
Pope Francis denounces violence in Chile: 'You cannot assert yourself by destroying others'
Pope Francis in Chile urged peace and denounced the use of violence in the struggle for indigenous rights yesterday, while celebrating Mass just hours after assailants fire-bombed churches and other targets.

'Darkest Hour' review: Joe Wright's film is a meditation on a Bible verse
'Darkest Hour' is essentially a two-hour meditation on a single verse: 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it' (John 1:5).

More than 100 killed as militia violence spikes in Central African Republic; bishops warn of country 'sinking into the abyss'
Militia-led violence has spiked in the Central African Republic, claiming more than 100 lives in the past month. Catholic Bishops have condemned the atrocities, warning of 'anarchy' and a country 'sinking into the abyss'.

Humanist asylum seeker turned away after he didn't know about Greek philosophers
A Pakistani man who left Islam to become a humanist has been denied asylum in the UK after failing to correctly answer questions about ancient Greek philosophers.

Carillion: What this Bible story teaches us about the crisis
Louise Davies, Director of Christians on the Left, responds to the crisis over Carillion going into liquidation

English cathedrals in contest to host Tim Peake's renowned spacecraft
Two English Anglican cathedrals are contending for the opportunity to host a renowned spacecraft within their walls.

Welby under fire from academics over 'dangerous' handling of Bishop George Bell report
Seven eminent academics have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, expressing their 'profound dismay' at the 'irresponsible and dangerous' position he has taken on the late Bishop George Bell following a report into abuse claims.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez relationship improves: 'They go to church still'
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are in a great place right now in their relationship, and it really helps that they enjoy going to church together and have a good support system of like-minded Christians.

Moms alarmed over transgender picture books targeted at children
Since society has grown more accepting of the LGBT community, the transgender lifestyle is now being featured in movies, TV shows, commercials, and even books. However, the Christian watchdog group One Million Moms refused to stand idly by after publishing giant Scholastic Inc. decided to release transgender picture books for children.