"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me ... . "

The speaker in this Biblical text is Jesus. He continues ... "just as you did it to one of the least of ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The author of a California bill strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church that would require priests to report confessions of child sex abuse to authorities said Tuesday he has put it on hold, citing lack of support.

SB 360 by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, had passed out of the state Senate on a 30-4-4 vote May 23. But ...Read more

There are somewhere around 77 million people in America who always remember who they are. They're Baby Boomers. And over the years they've unashamedly reminded us -- lest you forget -- that they've done it all.

Notice I use the past tense.

The leading edge of this postwar generation used to set the latest trends. Now, it may be setting records...Read more

DETROIT -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit said Sunday that it removed a prominent priest from public ministry after reviewing what it described as a "credible allegation" that he had sexually abused a child decades ago.

The Rev. Eduard Perrone was suspended from ministry Friday, a month after The Associated Press began asking the ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A former Southern Baptist leader arrested last summer on accusations that he'd sexually assaulted an Arlington teen more than two decades earlier pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to misdemeanor assault.

Mark Edwin Aderholt, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate, had been initially charged with sexual assault ...Read more

Br. David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk, teaches about the transforming power of living gratefully not just when something wonderful or special happens, but every day no matter what is happening.

I've recently been involved with two people whose lives were challenged by adversity, and seen grateful living's power sustain one of them and ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Evangelical Covenant Church voted Friday to evict the Rev. Dan Collison from the Minneapolis denomination, ending a five-year conflict over LGBT inclusion and cementing the denomination's position on same-sex marriage.

Covenant leaders also voted to expel Collison's First Covenant Church, a historic church in downtown ...Read more

You have to admit that scabs are rather gnarly, not pretty to look at or think about. But I'll bet there are few people who have not sported hard, crusty scabs of one kind or another.

The role and function of scabs are part of a greater, complex process of healing. While I am no dermatologist, I have witnessed enough cuts and scrapes to observe...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors are poring through dozens of digital devices as they build their case against the leader of La Luz del Mundo church, a man known by followers as "the apostle" of Jesus Christ and who has been charged with various counts of sex abuse, including forcible rape of a minor.

They claim that Naason Joaquin Garcia, 50, has ...Read more

Can you get tired of resting?

I once asked that question during a sermon, unaware that it would be received as a laugh line. While my humor may be wry enough to elicit such a response, I think my aim was at something more direct.

Specifically, my musing wanted to know whether the talk of rest, even the reality of rest, could somehow make God's...Read more

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- There's a new acronym floating in the alphabet soup of California housing parlance: YIGBY, or "yes in God's backyard."

Congregations in the Bay Area and beyond are taking steps to build affordable housing on their properties to shelter some of the many local residents who can't pay the region's sky-high rents. Housing ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- The nation's Roman Catholic bishops overwhelmingly -- though not unanimously -- approved a new framework Thursday for policing their own conduct, hoping it would be enough to stanch a series of scandals that brought to light sexual misconduct and inaction within their ranks over the last year.

The measures include a new code of ...Read more

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," my friend responded. "I think so."

We stood stock-still, straining to hear the sound again.

The sun was setting over one of the most breathtaking scenes imaginable. We were just below the Wenatchee Guard Station standing on a basalt spine in the Umatilla National Forest. The gulf below us broke away with a steep, ...Read more