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It’s that time of the year when hell is used as a common theme for entertainment and hell-themed haunted houses and horror movies pop up all over the country.

Two ministers — including a Baptist — on Monday interrupted a speech by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the topic of religious liberty — and then police removed the men. Speaking in Boston, Mass., at an event hosted by the Boston Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, Sessions addressed “The Future of Religious Liberty.”

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A global summit of Catholic bishops on Saturday (Oct. 27) issued a powerful call for the inclusion of women in decision-making roles in the church “at all levels” and sought to welcome gay people and commit the church to a historic shift on fighting clergy sexual abuse.

But in the wide-ranging final document, approved late Saturday following a series of votes by 248 cardinals and bishops, the synod on young people did not open the door to the ordination of women.

BOSTON (BP)-- Ted Barrett had made a deal with God, or so he thought, when he was a young umpire in the minor leagues. He promised God that if baseball didn't work out, and that if he never got a job in the big leagues, then he'd pursue a ministry calling.

As the umpire crew chief for this year's World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, he has reached the pinnacle of his profession.

(RNS) — A federal court heard oral arguments this week on whether a longstanding housing tax break for clergy called a “parsonage allowance exclusion” is constitutional, setting the stage for a clash over competing claims of religious privilege and religious discrimination.

(RNS) — In May, Roberto Rauda, an undocumented immigrant, went to a New London, Conn., courthouse to pay a fine for carrying an open container of beer. Instead he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a routine sweep and ended up in the Bristol County House of Corrections in North Dartmouth, Mass.

“Hi, I’m Joe. Welcome to First Baptist Church!” Long-time church member Joe beams at the visiting couple, while he pumps their hands. “So glad you came!”

Joe spies friends and moves on. The couple looks around, wondering where to sit and what to do next. No one else approaches them. By the time they return to their car, they’ve decided not to return next Sunday.

Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri seeking reelection this year, has stopped at multiple churches on the campaign trail — despite her office claiming she supports the IRS regulation that prevents houses of worship from intervening in political campaigns.

(RNS) — Since its grand opening nearly a year ago, the Museum of the Bible has exhibited five fragments from the storied Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient parchment fragments discovered 70 years ago in a desert cave.

On Monday (Oct. 22) the museum acknowledged that the five fragments it had on display were forgeries. 

Missouri Baptist Convention messengers will gather in Springfield this week (Oct. 22-23) for their 184th annual meeting with the 2018 theme of "Steady." Streaming is available for those not at the meeting.