2+ week, 4+ day ago (462+ words) By KATE PAYNE, Associated Press/Report for America A Christian missionary father and his daughter were killed when a small plane bound for a hurricane relief mission in Jamaica'crashed in a South Florida neighborhood. Christian ministry organization Ignite the Fire identified the two victims of the Monday morning crash as the group's founder, Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter Serena Wurm, 22. The pair were bringing humanitarian aid to Jamaica, according to the organization, when the Beechcraft King Air plane they were flying in crashed into a pond in a residential area of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, narrowly missing homes. As of Tuesday morning, investigators had not reported any other victims. Ignite the Fire is "dedicated to empowering youth through missions and evangelism across the Caribbean," according to the organization's website. A statement on the group's social media described…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (782+ words) U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to make official a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals. The step formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. From a Baltimore hotel ballroom, the bishops overwhelmingly approved revisions to their ethical and religious directives that guide the nation's thousands of Catholic health care institutions and providers. More than one in seven patients in the U.S. are treated each day at Catholic hospitals, according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic hospitals are the only medical center in some communities. Most Catholic health care institutions have taken a conservative approach and not offered gender-affirming care, which may involve hormonal, psychological and surgical treatments. The new directives will formalize that mandate. Bishops will have autonomy in making the directives into law for their dioceses. "With regard to the gender ideology,…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (1294+ words) By DAVID CRARY and HOLLY MEYER The U.S. feminist movement's perpetual quest for gender equality has suffered notable setbacks during President Donald Trump's second term " including the dismantling of various nondiscrimination programs and the ouster of several high-ranking women in the military. Yet strikingly, outspoken women from the Catholic Church and the ranks of conservative evangelicals are engaging with gusto in ongoing political and social debates even as their faiths maintain longstanding rules against women serving as priests or senior pastors. Many of these women see these ministry barriers as a nonissue. In a Dallas suburb, more than 6,500 conservative Christian women attended an Oct. 11 conference organized by commentator Allie Beth Stuckey. "Welcome to the fight," was her greeting. Ahead of the conference, Stuckey evoked the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying she had been inundated with messages from Christian women…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (429+ words) The top leader of the Anglican Church in North America " a conservative denomination that broke away from the more liberal Episcopal Church about 15 years ago " has taken a leave of absence after facing allegations of sexual and other misconduct, which he denies. Archbishop Stephen Wood announced the leave Monday while he awaits the outcome of a church disciplinary process triggered by a formal complaint, called a presentment, of alleged misconduct against him. Wood, 62, a married father of four, has denied the allegations. "I believe the charges against me lack merit, and I categorically and emphatically deny the particular accusation of attempted physical contact made against me by a former St. Andrew's employee," Wood said in a statement announcing his leave, during which he will still be paid. Wood also took leave as bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas and…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (1295+ words) By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Like other Quaker houses of worship, it follows values of simplicity and equality. There's no clergy, pulpit or altar. No statues of saints, no stained-glass windows. No one sings or chants, burns incense or lights candles. They simply sit in silence in 200-year-old wooden pews " and wait for a message from God to move through them until they speak. "This feels different in that it's so simple. It's set up in a way that makes you feel like your internal world " is equally as important as the space that you're in," says Valerie Goodman, a pink-haired artist reading her Bible outside the meeting house on a recent Sunday before going inside. Goodman, 27, grew up Southern Baptist but left the evangelical church in college. "It feels like I can have a minute to breathe. It's different than…...

4+ day, 16+ hour ago (1018+ words) But quiet and worship are just what airport chapels have provided for decades to travelers and to the airport workers that many were originally designed for. "I love seeing travel bags and workers" outfits. It gives hope that you"re ministering to a need," said the Rev. Brian Daley, one of the priests at Our Lady of the Airways at Boston"s Logan International Airport. Built in the 1950s so that airport employees could attend Mass right in their sprawling workplace, it"s widely considered the first airport chapel in the United States. It"s also among the last to still function as a Catholic church instead of an interfaith space " though Muslim prayer rugs discreetly placed on the rear pews show it welcomes a variety of believers. Midday on a Friday, a man rolling a carry-on suitcase prayed for a…...

5+ day, 3+ hour ago (1084+ words) Por KAREEM CHEHAYEB y ABBY SEWELL Elias ten'a solo 15 a'os cuando muri" en la explosi"n de agosto de 2020 en el puerto de Beirut que arras" con los barrios circundantes en la capital libanesa. Desde entonces, Khoury ha estado entre las familias que convocan protestas mensuales pidiendo justicia para las 218 personas que murieron cuando cientos de toneladas de nitrato de amonio mal almacenado detonaron. Su n'mero ha disminuido a medida que la investigaci"n se estancaba y las esperanzas de rendici"n de cuentas se han desvanecido. Pero la pr"xima visita del papa Le"n XIV al L'bano ha reavivado un rayo de esperanza para Khoury y muchos otros en el peque'o pa's golpeado por la crisis. "Necesitamos muchas oraciones, y necesitamos un milagro para que este pa's contin'e, dijo Khoury, quien se sumar" al pont'fice en una oraci…...

4+ day, 17+ hour ago (473+ words) El documento de la oficina doctrinal del Vaticano afirm" que la Iglesia cat"lica tiene una posici"n bien documentada que sostiene la indisolubilidad del matrimonio como una uni"n de por vida entre los c"nyuges. Sin embargo, se'al" que la posici"n de la Iglesia sobre la naturaleza "nica y exclusiva del matrimonio mon"gamo es menos conocida. En los "ltimos a'os, en reuniones del Vaticano con obispos, los delegados africanos han expresado regularmente que la poligamia se practica ampliamente entre sus fieles y han solicitado orientaci"n al Vaticano. "Una sola carne: Elogio de la Monogamia" les proporciona un documento doctrinal que detalla el tratamiento del matrimonio en la Biblia, la poes'a, la teolog'a y la filosof'a cristianas, as' como por varios papas y concilios eclesi'sticos a lo largo de la historia. El documento tiene 40 p'ginas con…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (426+ words) By MARIA SHERMAN, Associated Press Music Writer Its eclecticism is one of the many reasons why his music is connecting. The album peaked at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, an undeniable feat for a contemporary Christian music (CCM) release, and earned Lake his first Top 40 hit: "Hard Found Hallelujah" with country singer Jelly Roll. "It's the marriage of awesome production with an awesome message. A message of hope," says Lake. "There is strength that can be found, and hope that can be found, in the midst of the hell that you are walking through. And then you pair that with like an awesome sound and it's like, who's not going to love that?" Earlier this month, Lake was nominated for three Grammys at the 2026 award show in February; he already has five trophies to his name and a total 15 career-nods....

2+ week, 4+ day ago (617+ words) By TIFFANY STANLEY, Associated Press The United States" Catholic bishops will elect their next president and vice president on Tuesday in Baltimore. The vote acts as a barometer for the bishops" priorities, hinging on whether they choose an outspoken culture warrior as their next leader. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as a whole was often at odds with the approach of Pope Francis. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, is continuing a similar pastoral emphasis on marginalized people, poverty and the environment. Half the 10 candidates on the ballot come from the conservative wing of the conference. The difference is more in style than substance. Most U.S. Catholic bishops are reliably conservative on social issues, but some place more emphasis on opposing abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. "The slate of 10 candidates perfectly reflects the dynamics of the American hierarchy in that it"s split…...