VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican’s foreign secretary ended a five-day trip to Cuba with a “cordial, respectful and continuous” talk with President Raul Castro on Sunday (June 20). The meeting between Castro and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti underscored the increasingly significant role of the Catholic Church in the communist nation and prompted local hopes of a…

BATON ROUGE, La. (RNS) The Louisiana House approved and sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday (June 17) a revived bill that would allow people qualified to carry concealed weapons to tote them to their house of worship. Lawmakers voted 64-26 for a bill that would give church, mosque or synagogue leaders the authority to…

(RNS) Bonfires, drum circles, dancing, candlelit meditation and other ceremonial rituals help usher in the summer solstice at the annual Pagan Spirit Gathering, now in its 30th year in the United States. Along with celebrating the longest day of the year on Monday (June 21), this year’s weeklong festival at a campground in Salem, Mo.,…

(RNS)Q: When is a hat more than a hat? A: When the hat is a bishop’s miter, and belongs to the female head of the Episcopal Church, symbolizing her rank in a church hierarchy dominated by men. In a public snub that’s being dubbed “mitergate,” Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was told not to…

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