Israel says it killed a top Hamas commander in Gaza after an explosive device detonated and wounded two soldiers in the territory’s south.

Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered a significant fresco of Jesus as the "Good Shepherd" from Anatolia's early Christian era.

New footage shows six Israeli hostages celebrating Hanukkah while held captive in Gaza months before they were killed.

Nativity scenes at some churches are sparking fierce debates.

Pope Leo XIV is insisting that Europe must have a role in any Ukraine peace deal.

Gov_ Ron DeSantis has labeled the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a "foreign terrorist organization."

A Hamas leader has threatened to not move forward with the Gaza ceasefire's next phase unless Israel is pressured to open a key border crossing, cease deadly strikes and allow more aid.

Hundreds of Nicaraguans caroled the Virgin Mary at flower-and-light-filled altars set up in church parking lots as well as the back of vehicles on the streets of Miami to mark the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a “foreign terrorist organization,” following a similar step by Texas last month.

A federal judge has approved a federal settlement that will clear the way for the New Orleans Archdiocese to pay at least $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Pope Leo XIV embraces a Roman tradition by praying for peace at a statue of the Madonna near the Spanish Steps.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel and Hamas are expected to move into the second phase of their ceasefire soon.

An Atlanta church with a viral pastor has grown from less than 200 weekly churchgoers in 2023 to about 6,000 today.

Qatar’s prime minister says the Gaza ceasefire has reached a “critical moment” as its first phase winds down.

A Harvard visiting law professor from Brazil who told police he was shooting at rats when he fired a pellet gun near a synagogue on Yom Kippur has left the United States after his visa was revoked.

Pope Leo XIV has taken his biggest step yet to correct one of Pope Francis’ more problematic financial moves.

In the Ecuadorian Andes, young Otavalo Indigenous people are using anime to inspire pride in their culture and language.

Pope Leo XIV's first full-length U.S. book is set to release next winter.

London’s Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is a famed British tradition with roots in the Norwegian forest.

Lebanon’s prime minister says his country is “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel.

Pope Leo XIV has shared his thoughts during the conclave that elected him, saying he resigned himself to the inevitable and put the rest in God’s hands.

Israel says it has received remains handed over by Palestinian militants in Gaza to the Red Cross.

Pope Leo XIV has offered a silent prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion as he wrapped up his first foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon.

Pope Leo XIV has prayed at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, urging justice for the 218 victims.

Belgian authorities are puzzled by the theft of an infant Jesus icon from a Nativity scene in Brussels.

Pope Leo XIV has celebrated Lebanon's tradition of interfaith coexistence as a beacon of hope for a conflict-torn region.

Pope Leo XIV visits holy sites in Lebanon on Monday, drawing Christians and Muslims.

Pope Leo XIV's visit to Lebanon highlights the country's religious pluralism and sends a message to Christians not to abandon the region.

Pope Leo XIV has doubled down on the Holy See’s insistence on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Israel's president for a pardon during his ongoing corruption trial.

Pope Leo XIV has challenged Lebanon’s political leaders to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,000 since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Pope Leo XIV has visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque without praying there as he focused on strengthening ties with Orthodox patriarchs.

Israeli forces have raided a village in southern Syria, killing at least 13 people, according to Syrian officials.

Pope Leo XIV has marked a significant moment in his first foreign trip to Turkey by visiting the site of the historic Council of Nicaea.

Pope Leo XIV has joined Orthodox patriarchs and ecumenical leaders in Turkey to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

People who work with refugees are worried about backlash after authorities say an Afghan national shot National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., this week.

Pope Leo XIV is encouraging Turkey to be a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict.

Israel has returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians, following Hamas' return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.

Pope Leo XIV is embarking on his first foreign trip.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson's family says that the civil rights leader has been released from a hospital where he was treated for a rare neurological disorder.

As travel picks up for the season, flyers can find a moment of quiet and relaxation at interfaith chapels or meditation spaces in many U.S. airports.

The Vatican has doubled down on the value of monogamous marriage between a man and woman.

The greatest mystery in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” movies might be Benoit Blanc.

Traditional Christmas markets are opening across Germany, drawing revelers to enjoy mulled wine, grilled sausages, and festive attractions.

Pope Leo XIV is set to embark on his first trip abroad with a visit to Turkey, marking a key event in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity.

Paternity disputes in Uganda have become a significant issue as DNA testing becomes more accessible.

President Donald Trump’s administration is promoting efforts to work with Nigeria’s government to counter violence against Christians.

Israel's military says it has launched new airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza, testing the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10.

Rosalía has won over millions of music lovers for her fusions of flamenco and urban Latin beats.

The daughter of a detained Chinese Christian pastor is urging U.S. lawmakers to help free her father at a time when President Donald Trump has vowed to “save our Great Christian population” worldwide.

Pope Leo XIV has revealed a closely held secret: He uses a different Wordle start word each day.

A Muslim civil rights group has filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

A new Texas law says every public school classroom must display a poster listing the Ten Commandments.

Ukraine has asked the Vatican to formalize its role facilitating negotiations for the return of Ukrainian children and civilians taken by Russia during the war.

A museum dedicated to the Shroud of Turin has opened at the Christ Cathedral campus in Garden Grove, California.

Pope Leo XIV has strongly backed U.S. bishops who condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Palestinian attackers have stabbed an Israeli to death and wounded three others in the West Bank.

After decades of controversies over sexuality and theology in the worldwide Anglican Communion, some leaders of a conservative coalition says it’s time to make a final break from what has long been one of the world’s largest Protestant church families.

Pope Leo XIV is urging countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced its next spring fashion exhibit.

Israeli settlers have rampaged through a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, torching homes and cars in the latest in a string of settler attacks in recent weeks.

Poland's foreign minister says an auction of Holocaust artifacts in Germany has been canceled.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state.

Pope Leo XIV has welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience.

Parts of Gaza's huge Muwasi tent camp are struggling after winter's first major rainfall.

The Vatican has returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada.

A new exhibition in Mexico City explores how the sacred myth that marked the site of the ancient Mexica — or Aztec — capital has survived the European conquest, colonization and centuries of change to remain at the heart of Mexico’s identity.

Jordan’s king and Indonesia's leader have held talks as the two longtime friends agreed to strengthen military cooperation and economic ties between the two Muslim-majority nations.

Filmmaker Lotfy Nathan has turned the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas into a supernatural thriller called “The Carpenter’s Son,” starring Nicolas Cage.

One of the most spectacular examples of Renaissance illuminated manuscripts is going on rare public display as part of the Vatican’s Holy Year celebrations.

U.S. Catholic bishops have voted to make official a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals.

Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols are asking the governor to convert his sentence to life imprisonment with just a month until his scheduled Dec. 11 execution date.

Israel's president says authorities must take decisive action to stop “shocking and serious” Jewish settler violence against Palestinian civilians and Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank.

U.S. Catholic bishops have elected Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley as their new president, choosing a conservative culture warrior to lead during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The Vatican has launched an investigation into a possible antisemitic incident involving a Swiss Guard.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the next stages of the fragile Gaza ceasefire.

At the core of the program is the idea that there is no separation between what happens within the church and what happens in the government.

Salman Rushdie is among those being honored at the Dayton Literary Peace Prize event in Ohio.

Israel has confirmed it has received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.

A dwindling number of Holocaust survivors are marking the 87th anniversary Sunday of Kristallnacht at a time when antisemitism is on the rise, especially in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

Vice President JD Vance’s recent comments about hoping his Hindu wife converts to Christianity have sparked discussions about interfaith marriages.

Gaza health officials say over 69,000 Palestinians have died in the Israel-Hamas war.

The suits against Galveston, Round Rock and Leander ISDs come after Texas passed a law requiring the commandments be posted in classrooms. The law is being challenged in federal court.

British police have arrested 10 people around a Europa League soccer match in Birmingham between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

As a left-leaning Muslim politician, London Mayor Sadiq Khan shares similarities with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

British police said six people have been arrested ahead of Aston Villa’s Europa League soccer match with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, a match that has seen fans of the Israeli team banned.

Israeli authorities have identified the latest remains of a hostage that Hamas handed over as belonging to a Tanzanian agricultural student.

The latest round of exhumations of Native American students from a cemetery at the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania resulted in the remains of 17 students being repatriated to their families and tribes, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Within hours of Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York’s first Muslim mayor, there were swift and harsh reactions from his Jewish critics.

The FBI has announced Wednesday a third man has been arrested and accused of planning a Halloween terror attack in Michigan.

Zohran Mamdani's historic New York City's mayoral race victory has sparked excitement and hope among many American Muslims.

A historian’s hunch about what might lie hidden within the walls of a Japanese church in Salt Lake City led congregants to uncover a century-old time capsule recalling the city's once vibrant Japantown.

Pope Leo XIV has called for deep reflection in the United States regarding the treatment of detained migrants.

Israel's military says the remains of a hostage in Gaza, Staff Sergeant Itay Chen, have been returned for burial in Israel.

Salman Rushdie's new book, “The Eleventh Hour,” marks a creative reset for the author.

New York City’s Jewish community — the largest in the United States — is abounding with anxiety and friction a day ahead of an election that could give the city its first Muslim mayor.

Jewish and Catholic leaders have condemned a Halloween parade float in Pennsylvania that included a replica of the Auschwitz gate.

Concerns that antisemitism is on the rise among Republicans burst to the surface this weekend at a meeting in Las Vegas.

Long lines have formed at food pantries across the U.S. as federal food benefits were cut off due to the government shutdown.