(RNS) In a major shift, Reform rabbis have publicly acknowledged intermarriage as a “given” that calls for increased outreach and understanding, rather than a threat to Jewish identity that must be resisted at all costs. The Central Conference of American Rabbis, which represents nearly 2,000 Reform rabbis from around the world, embraced the change during…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI admitted striking members of the German boys’ choir that he led for three decades, but denied knowing that some of the boys were victims of clerical sex abuse. “I must admit that I often became depressed, because (the boys) did not achieve the results I…

WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday (March 8) to decide whether the father of a fallen soldier can sue religious protesters for picketing at his son’s funeral with signs that read “Thank God for dead soldiers.” The case will test the boundaries of the Constitution by weighing whether extreme speech that inflicts…

TOKYO (RNS/ENI) The Roman Catholic bishops of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — the only cities in the world that were leveled by atomic bombs — are urging world leaders to abolish nuclear weapons. Nagasaki Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami and Hiroshima Bishop Joseph Atsumi Misue released a joint statement ahead of a nuclear security summit scheduled for…

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