Citing financial losses resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden in New Jersey said Friday that it would halt payments from a clergy sex-abuse victim fund that has paid out nearly $7.6 million.

In a statement, the diocese said it had suffered a "precipitous decline in revenue" and was rapidly approaching a ...Read more

BEIRUT -- In the best of times, it's hard to land one of the slots Saudi Arabia parcels out for the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are duty-bound to make at least once in their lives. In the worst of times -- cue the novel coronavirus -- it's well-nigh impossible, with the numbers for this year's event, now underway, ...Read more

AMMAN, Jordan -- Muslim pilgrims started performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, although Islam's largest gathering has been significantly curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A few thousand people are taking part, a fraction of the usually 2.5 million people from all over the world who usually gather annually ...Read more

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- Along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, electronic road signs were programmed to read: CANCELED SATURATE OC.

But the evangelical worship event took place on the sand near Lifeguard Tower 20 for the fourth Friday in a row, despite warnings that it was violating public health orders and permitting rules, ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As California Gov. Gavin Newsom once again bars houses of worship in much of the state from conducting indoor religious services, some Christian leaders are critical of the governor's decision.

The order restricting indoor worship services applies to any county on the state's COVID-19 monitoring list. On Monday, Newsom ...Read more

It shook the ground like a sudden clap of thunder. Stunned, we stood silently near our car looking around for a few minutes -- before realizing the sound came from nearby Fairchild Air Force Base.

It was Friday, June 24, 1994, and Lieutenant Colonel Bud Holland had just crashed a B-52 Stratofortress bomber, killing himself and three crew ...Read more

Fear had pounced without warning back then. Powerless and trapped, it felt like a nightmare ... and I was afraid.

It's a vivid memory that stretches more than a few years back, a time when I was handed a long list of demands; an agenda that stretched from here to the nearest McD's. At the top were the words, "Ride a roller coaster."

Were the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The White House plans to ask Congress to earmark money in the next stimulus bill for scholarship programs for private and religious schools, which the administration is promoting as a way to help families affected by COVID-19 pay their children's tuition this fall.

President Donald Trump will ask for a "one-time, emergency ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states may not exclude religious schools from tuition grants that support other private schools.

The justices, by a 5-4 vote, decided that denying grants to students in church schools amounts to unconstitutional discrimination against religion.

The decision is a victory for advocates of school...Read more

My mama knew tough times.

Childhood poverty, the Great Depression, and World War II taught her as surely as my grandma's hand rocked the cradle. Together they formed her moral compass.

Even now, bits and pieces of her story are etched in my memory. How she swept their family's dirt floor, an end of day chore; how her feet ached in a big ...Read more

Do you ever get caught in an inward and endless loop of, "What if?" -- "What if my health ... What if my kids ... What if my parents ... What if my plans ... What if a robber breaks in and ... ?"

Same.

Since anxiety sneaks around in human hearts like a common thief seeking to steal joy, we need to guard against its intrusions. But how?

In ...Read more

It was hard to miss -- the terrific thunder and lightning storm that recently lit up the early morning skies and woke up sleepy heads. I arose and with steaming cup of coffee in hand, sat in my opened garage just out of reach of the occasional torrential rains, and watched with the requisite oohs and aahs.

All who viewed were treated to thick ...Read more