Catholic church

Pope Leo XIV challenges Illinois governor over end-of-life legislation

The Illinois bill, which takes effect next September, gives terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less the option to request a medical prescription to end their lives.

|ByREUTERS
Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd during a meeting with bishpops, priests consacrated persons and personal workers at the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, northeast of the capital Beirut, on December 1, 2025.
President Isaac Herzog meets with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, September 4, 2025.

Israel's Herzog, Pope Leo discuss rise in worldwide antisemitism ahead of Christmas

The pope expressed his pride in Israel’s diverse and thriving Christian communities, who will gather at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem for an annual festive meeting in the coming weeks.

|ByESTHER DAVIS
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai receives a chalice from Pope Leo XIV (R) at a Holy Mass during the pope’s first apostolic journey, in Beirut, on December 2.

Pope Leo decries leaders who invoke religion for violence and nationalism

"It has become increasingly common to drag the language of faith into political battles, to bless nationalism, and to justify violence and armed struggle in the name of religion," said the pope.

|ByREUTERS
A woman sits with a veil on a church pew, with others at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, US, December 4, 2025.

New York Catholic Church agrees to mediation for 1,300 sexual abuse claims

The mediation to settle sexual abuse claims could result in one of the largest payouts ever by the church in the United States.

|ByREUTERS

Reform rabbi to be knighted by Pope Francis for his work on Jewish-Catholic relations

A. James Rudin will become the ninth Jewish person to receive the honor in the Order’s nearly 200-year history.

NOVEMBER 3, 2022ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from a window at the Vatican September 18, 2022.

Church of England, British Catholic Church oppose moving UK embassy to Jerusalem

Archbishop of Westminster Cardent Vincent Nichols (Roman Catholic) and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Wellby (Church of England) have come out against relocating the British Embassy to Jerusalem.

OCTOBER 8, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
LEFT: Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vince Nichols. RIGHT: Head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

Going to religious services will make you live longer - study

Whether it be church, synagogue, mosque or a different house of worship, scientists agree that going to services is good for your health.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022ByMAYA ZANGER-NADIS
THE INTERIOR of the historic Main Synagogue, aka the Great Synagogue, which is now closed.

Pope says supplying weapons to Ukraine is morally acceptable for self defense

The war in Ukraine provided the backdrop to the pope's visit to Kazakhstan, where he attended a congress of religious leaders from around the world.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022ByREUTERS
Pope Francis answers reporters questions during a conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back to Rome after visiting Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 15 September 2022.

Pope meets Russian Orthodox number two ahead of meeting with Patriarch

The pope and the Patriarch have met once, in Cuba in 2016 - the first meeting between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism of 1054.

AUGUST 5, 2022ByREUTERS
Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after visiting Canada, July 29, 2022.

Portugal launches inquiries into alleged Catholic Church sexual abuse

A commission investigating child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the Iberian nation has collected around 350 testimonies since it started its work in January.

JULY 28, 2022ByREUTERS
People carry the statue of Our Lady of Fatima (the Virgin Mary) during an event marking the 105th anniversary of the reported appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal, May 12, 2022.

Pope travels to Canada on 'pilgrimage of penance' for indigenous abuse

In Canada, between 1881 and 1996, more than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools.

JULY 24, 2022ByREUTERS
Pope Francis looks on during an exclusive interview with Reuters, at the Vatican, July 2, 2022.

Can the Catholic Church change its views on women, abortion? - book review

The attitude of the Catholic Church to women, abortion and to sex in general is not new. It is very much a part of its long history

JUNE 30, 2022ByRABBI RON KRONISH
Pope Francis holds a child as he attends a mass in St. Peter’s Square on June 25.

'Jacob's younger brother': Examining Christian-Jewish relations - review

Roman Catholics, Orthodox Jews address reconciliation in the 20th century

JUNE 18, 2022By GLENN C. ALTSCHULER
POPE JOHN PAUL II meets with Ashkenazi chief rabbi Meir Lau (L) and his Sephardi counterpart Eliahu Bakshi-Doron in Jerusalem, 2000.

Church founded by antisemite hosts an event on Jewish-Catholic relations

Father Coughlin’s nationwide radio show, which ran from 1926-1940, he was a fearsome demagogue: parroting Nazi propaganda, telling his listeners “Jewish Communists” were plotting their demise.

JUNE 2, 2022ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
The Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan on May 31, 2022, before a “discussion of the Jewish-Catholic Relationship”. This event was co-sponsored by the Detroit JCRC/AJC and the Archdiocese of Detroit. The Shrine was founded by Father Charles Coughlin.