1+ day, 14+ hour ago (969+ words) IZNIK, Turkey -- Pope Leo XIV joined Eastern and Western patriarchs and priests Friday in commemorating an important anniversary in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D. 325 meeting of bishops to pray that Christians might once again be united. Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today. Standing over the ruins of the site, the men recited the creed, which Leo said was "of fundamental importance in the journey that Christians are making toward full communion." "In this way, we are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord…...

3+ day, 14+ hour ago (151+ words) CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy -- Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that Thanksgiving was a "beautiful feast" that unites believers and non-believers alike, as he issued a message of thanks ahead of the U.S. holiday. Leo said he was thankful for many things and urged everyone to recognize the gifts they have been given. "First and foremost, the gift of life. The gift of the faith. The gift of unity," he said. He was responding to reporters' questions Tuesday night as he left Castel Gandolfo, where he goes on Mondays and Tuesdays for a rest and to play tennis. He described Thanksgiving as "this beautiful feast that we have in the United States, which unites all people - people of different faiths, people who perhaps do not have the gift of faith" to say thank you to someone. Leo will spend his first Thanksgiving as…...

5+ day, 11+ hour ago (276+ words) THAILAND -- A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin. "I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled," he said. "I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time." According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for about two years, when…...

5+ day, 15+ hour ago (276+ words) THAILAND -- A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin. "I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled," he said. "I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time." According to Pairat, the brother said his sister had been bedridden for about two years, when…...

1+ week, 13+ hour ago (355+ words) INDIANAPOLIS (KABC) -- A 17-year-old high school student got to do something very few teenagers ever have before, at this year's National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis. Ezequiel Ponce was one of five students given a chance to ask questions directly to Pope Leo XIV. The students were seated at the center of the arena filled with thousands of other teenagers, with Pope Leo XIV appearing on screen via teleconference. A moderator invited Ponce to stand, gave him a microphone and allowed him to speak. "To be honest, I was a little nervous," said Ponce. "Right before the Pope came on the screen and everyone started cheering, I immediately got goosebumps, and my heart was beating fast." Ponce asked the Pope about the challenges facing students of his generation, especially those with mental and emotional struggles. "Growing up in public school, I…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (208+ words) ARCADIA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Catholic school in Arcadia honored a beloved church usher and World War II veteran who's just a month away from celebrating his 101st birthday. Joe "Peppy" Sciarra has been an usher at Holy Angels Catholic for decades, and students honored him Monday morning with a special ceremony at the school. "It's very exciting to me to see all these young children," he said. "It's my fourth year coming here, and when they see me at church, when they see me go by, they always wave at me. They know me." The children said they were elated to honor Sciarra as well as all veterans who served and are currently serving our country with distinction and dedication. "It's important because they fight for our country and our freedom, and it's a time for us to learn and respect…...

3+ week, 13+ hour ago (1197+ words) WASHINGTON -- Vice President JD Vance recently told a packed college arena that he hopes his Hindu wife would someday convert to Christianity, thrusting into the spotlight the deeply sensitive challenges facing interfaith couples. Experts who have counseled hundreds of couples who don't share religious beliefs say the key is respect for each other's faith traditions and having honest discussions about how to raise their children. Most agree that pressuring or even hoping the other would convert could prove damaging to a relationship, and all the more so for a couple in the public arena. "To respect your partner and everything they bring to the marriage - every part of their identity - is integral to the kind of honesty that you need to have in a marriage," said Susan Katz Miller, author of the book "Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (402+ words) VATICAN CITY -- Pope Leo XIV called for "deep reflection" in the United States about the treatment of migrants held in detention, saying that "many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now." The Chicago-born pope was responding Tuesday to a range of geopolitical questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, including what kind of spiritual rights migrants in U.S. custody should have, U.S. military attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela and the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East. Leo underlined that scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world: "How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (798+ words) VATICAN CITY -- Pope Leo XIV on Saturday bestowed one of the Catholic Church's highest honors on St. John Henry Newman, the deeply influential 19th- century British convert and theologian, declaring him a doctor of the church and holding him up as a model for Catholic educators. Only 37 other people have been given the title "doctor" in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Newman now joins the ranks of such monumental Christian figures as St. Augustine, St. Therese of Lisieux and St. John of the Cross. The title recognizes that Newman, beloved in both the Anglican and Catholic churches, has universal appeal and made a timeless, eminent contribution to understanding the Christian faith. A theologian and poet raised in the Church of England, Newman is best known for his writings and sermons on the development of doctrine, truth and the nature…...