Signs Of the Times

The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued a strong condemnation against an early morning arson attack on the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee on June 18. The council, which is made up of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Heads of the Local

‘The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance.’

Americans have less confidence in organized religion today than ever measured before—a sign that the church could be “losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation’s culture,” a new Gallup survey finds. In the mid-1970s, nearly seven in 10 Americans said th

Expressions of regret and horror, prayer services and moments of silence across the country followed in the aftermath of a shooting in a historic church in Charleston, S.C. The rampage on June 17 claimed the lives of nine people. Once again the nation faced the grim, inexplicable spectacle of a mass

Addressing “every person on the planet” in a groundbreaking encyclical, “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis speaks frankly and passionately about the “global environmental deterioration” of “our common home,” appealing “for a new dialogue about how

Pope Francis accepted the resignations on June 15 of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In a statement, Archbishop Nienstedt said he hopes his resignation might “give the archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many cha

From the beginning of his pontificate the Argentine pope has given particular attention to “the peripheries” of the world. Bosnia-Herzegovina, with its capital city Sarajevo, is one of them. Life is hard there. The economy is weak, unemployment is high and ethnic tensions are never far f

At St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Del., on June 6, President Obama delivered the eulogy for Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden. • Pope Francis sent “heartfelt condolences” to the citizens of Ghana after at least 150 people were killed in an explosion at a ga

A Canadian government investigation used the term “cultural genocide” to describe the experience of aboriginal people, advising that reconciliation within the country “is going to take hard work.” Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on June 2 called for changes

The black market or informal economy threatens workers’ rights, security and protection worldwide, and more must be done to strengthen minimum wages, safety standards and maternity benefits, said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, who heads the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United