Religion
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Woman says founder of Kansas City's International House of Prayer sexually abused her when she was 14 in the 1980s
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Michigan woman has come forward with allegations that International House of Prayer founder Mike Bickle sexually abused her starting when she was 14 and before he formed the Kansas City ministry.
Her allegations, which some say are the most damning to surface yet about Bickle and come after four decades of silence, are ...Read more
A church began ringing its bells again. Not everyone is happy
PHILADELPHIA -- Late last year, Rev. Alfred Bradley planned a Christmastime surprise for the neighborhood he grew up in. He was bringing back the sound of church bells to the Fishtown neighborhood.
Thanks to two crafty volunteers and two generous families, the Holy Name of Jesus Church on E. Berks and Gaul Streets received a bell tower upgrade ...Read more
Hindu faithful denied permission to build temple in Gotha, Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — Leaders of a Hindu congregation hoping to build a new temple in Gotha will have to find a different location.
Orange County commissioners voted 5-2 on Tuesday to reject the congregation’s appeal of a zoning board ruling which concluded the proposed temple with a 43-foot-tall spire would be a “detrimental intrusion” in ...Read more
Religious 'nones' now outnumber Catholics and evangelical Protestants
Americans who don’t belong to any religion now reportedly outnumber the nation’s largest religious groups.
“Nones” — as Pew Research Center identifies people with no religious affiliation — made up 28% of the 3,300 respondents surveyed for a study published Wednesday called “Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What ...Read more
Pope Francis pleads for Haitian nuns' release, as gang violence and kidnappings spike
As Haiti’s Catholic Church tries to negotiate the freedom of six kidnapped nuns and two of their companions from an armed gang, Pope Francis has called for the release of all hostages in the volatile nation and said he was praying for social harmony.
The Roman Catholic pontiff made the appeal in his weekly Angelus address on Sunday while also...Read more
Commentary: Speaker Mike Johnson wants Christianity to rule
Recently elected U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is a man of faith — something many Americans, including myself, can relate to. What is less agreeable, however, is Johnson’s lifelong mission to use the power of the government to impose his own faith upon others.
As a Southern Baptist minister of the same faith tradition as Johnson, ...Read more
Modi to inaugurate major Hindu temple in milestone for India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to fulfill his party’s decades-long promise when he consecrates a major Hindu temple in northern India on Monday, marking a new milestone in the popular leader’s project of reshaping the country into a more avowedly Hindu nation.
The inauguration of the Ram temple, before a crowd of business leaders, ...Read more
Loud n Clear: How this church is reaching out to the deaf and hard of hearing
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eduardo Cardenas grew up feeling isolated.
He lost his hearing after getting spinal meningitis at 10 months old. For years, he said, his family didn’t even know he was deaf.
However, he found another way to express himself — through music and religion.
“Music was really my first language. When I learned music, ...Read more
Maryland AG defends Child Victims Act in constitutional challenge by Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is defending the state’s Child Victims Act from a constitutional challenge raised by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington in a pair of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by clergy.
With parallel briefs filed in lawsuits against the Washington diocese in Montgomery and Prince George’s ...Read more
Brooklyn Chabad Lubavitch tunnel diggers refused NYPD order to leave tunnel they dug, says DA
NEW YORK — When cops were called to a basement sanctuary at Brooklyn’s Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, they found four rabbinical students inside a tunnel refusing to come out of the tunnel they created, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Dov Bear Shenhav, 20, Shmuel Malka, 19, Blumenfeld Yerachmiel, 20, and Henachem Mulakando, 19, “refused...Read more
Melee over secret tunnel at Brooklyn Chabad headquarters ends in 12 arrests
NEW YORK — A dozen students at Brooklyn’s Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters were arrested as they tried to stop efforts to block a secret illegal tunnel they had dug in a bizarre attempt to expand the house of worship, officials said Tuesday.
Police were called to the famed Orthodox headquarters on Eastern Parkway near Kingston Avenue in ...Read more
Melee over secret tunnel at Brooklyn Chabad headquarters ends in 12 arrests
NEW YORK — A dozen students at Brooklyn’s Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters were taken into police custody as they tried to stop attempts to block a secret tunnel they had dug in a bizarre attempt to expand the house of worship, officials said Tuesday.
Cops were called to the famed headquarters on Eastern Parkway near Kingston Ave. in ...Read more
Church files suit against Castle Rock challenging Colorado town's ban on sheltering homeless people in RVs
DENVER — “Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.”
That passage from Isaiah 58:7 was invoked by the Rock Church in a lawsuit it filed against Castle Rock last week as part of an attempt to overturn the town’s decision to bar the evangelical church from providing temporary shelter to homeless people in two RVs ...Read more
Shia LaBeouf has been confirmed in the Catholic Church. Is becoming a deacon next?
LOS ANGELES — New year, New Shia LaBeouf.
The “Transformers” star, whose acting career has been tainted for years by alcoholism, abuse allegations and arrests, was officially confirmed into the Catholic Church on New Year’s Eve. Now, he’s reportedly eyeing the diaconate.
The Capuchin Franciscans-Western American Province announced ...Read more
Another leader of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City steps down as fallout over sex abuse allegations continues
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Less than two weeks after the International House of Prayer of Kansas City permanently separated from its founder amid a sex abuse scandal and its executive director resigned, another leader at the global prayer ministry is stepping down.
David Sliker is leaving his position as president of IHOP University “after seven ...Read more
Commentary: Can the Church of England's and Pope Francis' strides on same-sex marriage help save dying institutions?
It was a simple blessing: a giving of thanks for love, friendship and commitment. Yet this prayer, read at a church in Suffolk, east England, on Sunday morning, has become a lightning rod for England’s premier religious institution.
After midnight Saturday, the Church of England — the state church, whose supreme governor is the king — ...Read more
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