World

Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the man who became synonymous with South Africa’s nonviolent struggle against apartheid, died Sunday at the age of 90. Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer almost two decades ago.

Captive missionaries in Haiti found freedom last week by making a daring overnight escape, eluding their kidnappers and walking for miles over difficult, moonlit terrain with an infant and other children in tow, according to the agency they work for, officials said Monday.

A spokesman for Christian churches in the Holy Land on Wednesday accused Israel of discriminating against Christian tourists during the normally busy Christmas holiday season.

A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily publicly apologized to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. The diocese said the bishop was trying to underline the true meaning of Christmas.

Israeli authorities on Wednesday said they would permit 500 members of the Gaza Strip’s tiny Christian community to enter Israel and the occupied West Bank to celebrate Christmas. 

Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen — once blackened with soot from millions of worshipers’ candles — is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born. But few visitors are expected to see it this Christmas holiday season.

The U.S. State Department has added Russia to its list of nations it considers among the world’s most egregious violators of religious freedom. Russia joins Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan on the list of “countries of particular concern.” 

As the United Nations Climate Conference (known as COP26) gathers world leaders in Glasgow, Scotland, to discuss climate change, people of faith long active in environmental advocacy haven’t succumbed to pessimism.

Around the world, faith leaders and environmental activists increasingly joining the fight against climate change. And some believe systemic change to protect those most vulnerable to the climate crisis must come from world leaders meeting at the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

President Joe Biden said Pope Francis told him he should continue to receive Communion, as the world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics ran overtime in highly personal discussions on climate change, poverty, and the coronavirus pandemic.