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VATICAN CITY — President Obama met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time on Friday (July 10) in a closed-door meeting that a Vatican statement said covered multiple topics but focused on the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion. The pope also gave Obama copies of his recent encyclical on the global economy and a statement…

URUMQI, China – The petite Muslim woman with the sky blue head scarf began by complaining that the public washrooms were closed at a crowded mosque on Friday – the most important day of the week for Islamic worship. When a group gathered around her on the sidewalk, Madina Ahtam then railed against communist rule…

BOSTON — The historic Church of the Covenant just off the city’s Public Garden has been an important place for Anne Crane and Sarah Perreault. The lesbian couple had their first date there in the late 1970s, and by the time Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, the two had been active members for more…

WASHINGTON – The national motto, “In God We Trust,” will be engraved in the Capitol Visitor Center, responding to critics who said Congress spent $621 million on the new facility without paying due respect to the nation’s religious heritage. The House voted 410-8 Thursday to direct the Architect of the Capitol to engrave “In God…

WASHINGTON – Democrats on a key Senate panel Thursday voted to permanently reverse a policy in effect under recent Republican administrations that banned giving U.S. money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information. The 17-11 vote by the Appropriations Committee would give the existing policy – set by President Barack Obama by…

WASHINGTON (RNS) Francis Collins, the researcher who mapped the human genome and navigated clashes between his Christian faith and science, has been chosen to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Calling Collins “one of the top scientists in the world,” President Obama announced his nomination on Wednesday (July 8), one day after the NIH…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A lot of youth pastors might love the chance to share their faith with a movie star for two hours and then be featured in the star’s next motion picture, testifying about Jesus. Jody Trautwein, youth pastor at Point of Grace Ministries in Birmingham, got that chance when an outrageous gay Austrian…

WASHINGTON — The ink had barely dried on the pope’s newest encyclical when the group Catholics for Working Families used the document to push for the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act. Has Pope Benedict XVI suddenly become a liberal? Worker’s rights. Financial regulation. Environmental protection. They’re all policies that are straight out of the Democratic…

WASHINGTON — From a sparsely adorned office building a stone’s throw from the White House, Joshua DuBois carefully navigates the delicate line between church and state. Each morning, he sends a devotional message to President Obama’s BlackBerry. He appears before religious and community groups to explain his role as director of the White House Office…

(RNS) A Michigan-based Christian relief group, International Aid, has closed its doors amid financial struggles while World Vision, one of the largest evangelical relief agencies, has eliminated about 75 positions. International Aid needed to collect about $1.5 million in the past two months to balance its $70 million budget, but only gathered between $150,000 and…
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