Archbishop Paulinus Costa, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, criticized the “barbarous killing and looting” that left more than 140 people dead or missing following the recent mutiny of the Bangladesh military. • Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael S

A group of Catholic leaders, scholars and theologians publicly expressed support on March 1 for the nomination of Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Democrat of Kansas, to be the next secretary of health and human services. In a statement organized by Catholics United, a Washington-based progressive organi

Religious leaders met in Detroit, Lebanon and Rome in February to address the accelerating emigration of Christians from the Middle East, an exodus that seriously threatens the survival of Christianity in the region. Currently between 12 million and 15 million Christians reside in the Middle East, a

Despite receiving what he termed “hate mail” that questioned his appointment to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, said he welcomed the opportunity to bring the church’s vi

Hard work, solidarity and other ethical values must be part of the world’s response to the global economic crisis, said Pope Benedict XVI and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The pope and prime minister met Feb. 19 at the Vatican, and their 35-minute conversation focused on the economic cr

The Vatican has labeled “blasphemous” a satire of Christianity on an Israeli television network that included joking suggestions that Mary was impregnated by a school friend at the age of 15 and that Jesus died at a young age because he was fat. A Vatican statement on Feb. 20 said the pr