The tree-lined hills and valleys beckoned the young Army private as his '35 black Chevy hugged the narrow road, a hairpin curve almost upon him. Basic US Army training was behind and the war just ahead, his 3-day leave wedged in between for saying good-byes.

But before the fading autumn sun could dim the burnished foliage, this 18-year old ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A Spanish teacher is accused of separating students "based on their religious beliefs," prompting a North Carolina school district to investigate.

Johnston County Public Schools says the teacher is suspended with pay while it examines "whether or not she asked students about their beliefs in God," according to ABC11, The News &...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A Spanish teacher is accused of separating students "based on their religious beliefs," prompting a North Carolina school district to investigate.

Johnston County Public Schools says the teacher is suspended with pay while it examines "whether or not she asked students about their beliefs in God," according to ABC11, The News &...Read more

Living along the Columbia River can be an exercise in feeling small and contemporary.

I am referring to the profound awe sensed when walking, driving or boating among the massive cliffs of deep coulees that wend their way from mountains to ocean. These great vertical-walled gorges extend mile after mile, inexorably gouged out by the Mighty ...Read more

Have you ever experienced a "gray day?" You know, the kind that is not merry or bright, but also not terribly dark, or even quite blue in hue. Instead, this kind of day, in some way, is decidedly gray.

Maybe the colorless shade lingers on the inside, because you're feeling a little tired, and a bit bummed-out by the day's developments -- your ...Read more

Pink connected us on the beach back then. A coincidental meeting on a sun-kissed stretch of vacant Texas sand, a place where the memory still gives my heart pause.

As I studied the newly arrived text, my pulse quickened. Could this be the same Melissa I'd prayed for continually since 2013, her name written inside a tiny seashell as a daily ...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

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A scathing report released Tuesday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport on the alleged sexual abuse of hundreds of victims by clergy since the early 1950s blames former Bishops Edward Egan and Walter Curtis for violating state law and failing to respond to "an unfolding crisis."

Despite hundreds of victims, church ...Read more

"Hey dad, tell us about the time you drove your father's car into the garage door!" (True story).

"Tell us again how you proposed to mom at the same spot you met her!" (Another true story).

"Remind us how you used to sing into our infant ears, 'My Bonnie lies over the ocean'... (Why was that silly song so soothing to us?)"

Yes, family stories...Read more

After news emerged in 2018 that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had been accused of sexually abusing fellow students while studying to be a Catholic priest, John Cavadini came up with an idea.

"There were so many rumors about what's going on in seminary culture and was what happened with McCarrick the norm," said Cavadini, a theology professor at ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge held state prosecutors in contempt Thursday for not turning evidence over in the sexual abuse case against the leader of La Luz Del Mundo and two of his followers.

Judge Teresa Sullivan fined Deputy Attorneys General Amanda Plisner and Diana Callaghan $5,000 each for violating a court ...Read more

Although I suppose I am genetically predisposed to be, I am in fact not a photographer. My maternal grandfather was a prolific professional taker and maker of everything photographic, from thousands of school portraits to magnificent winter scenes to serene lakeside perspectives to all the necessary supplies. His name was Leo, and folks across ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After investigating Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Friday that he has referred 12 former clergy members for possible criminal prosecution.

Schmitt released a 329-page report Friday detailing his office's yearlong investigation that involved interviews with victims ...Read more

I remember the shadow of the World Trade Center, the welcome relief it brought for the businessman, his coat and tie oppressive in the summer heat. I remember beyond the walls and wrought iron fence of St. Paul's Chapel, quick-footed New Yorkers sidestepping tourists who paused to openly gaze at the towering buildings.

I remember the quiet of ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a former Northeast Philadelphia priest on new charges six years after a sexual abuse case against him fell apart when his accuser died of a heroin overdose shortly before he was due to testify in court.

According to sources familiar with the case, Robert L. Brennan, 81, formerly of ...Read more