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(RNS) Religious organizations reported a 5.5 increase in donations last year, a marked contrast from the nationwide 2-percent decline in charitable giving, according to a study by Giving USA Foundation. Religious congregations, which accounted for 35 percent of the total $307 billion in charitable contributions, exceeded $100 billion in donations for the second year in…

(RNS) The Rev. John Stek considered Bible translation a never-ending work, once noting, “Even the most durable words take on different nuances as culture changes.” Stek attended diligently to those nuances, serving for nearly 45 years on the translation committee for the New International Version — the most popular modern English-language Bible. Stek died Saturday…

WASHINGTON – An elderly gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, killing a security guard before being shot. Authorities said they were investigating a white supremacist as the suspect. The 89-year-old assailant was hospitalized in critical condition, Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty said. D.C. Police Chief Cathy…

WASHINGTON (RNS) Christian leaders, including three members of President Obama’s faith advisory council, on Wednesday (June 10) pushed the president to make good on his promise of comprehensive immigration reform. The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Noel Castellanos, the Rev. Vashti McKenzie and the Rev. Jim Wallis of the group Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) said…

(RNS) A federal appeals court has declared the erection of a Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional, citing the “unusual” circumstances of its placement on the courthouse grounds in a small Oklahoma county. In its Monday (June 8) ruling, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted statements by county commissioners about the monument, including one who…

Challenges are landing fast and furious on Capitol Hill. So Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, feels he has to arrive at the top of his game every day. And Ryan says he has found a way to do that: He meditates for at least 45 minutes before leaving home. Ryan, 35, sits on a floor cushion,…

(RNS) Unwed young women who attend or have attended religious schools are more likely to have abortions than their public school peers, according to a new study. The study also found “no significant link” between abortion and personal religiosity — defined by perception of religion’s importance, frequency of prayer and other religious activities. “This research…

(RNS) The volume of physical assaults, vandalism and harassment against Jews decreased for the fourth consecutive year in 2008, according to a recent audit that tracks anti-Semitic incidents. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), whose aim is to counteract prejudice against Jews, reported a 7 percent decline in criminal acts that target Jews out of prejudice. Deborah…

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI expressed solidarity with victims abused by clergy in Ireland in a meeting with the country’s top churchmen Friday, following a report detailing decades of rapes, humiliation and beatings at church-run reform schools, the Vatican said. Benedict held a long meeting with Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh and Dublin Archbishop…

WEIMAR, Germany – President Barack Obama witnessed the Nazi ovens of the Buchenwald concentration camp Friday, its clock tower frozen at the time of liberation, and said the leaders of today must not rest against the spread of evil. The president called the camp where an estimated 56,000 people died the “ultimate rebuke” to Holocaust…
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