2+ week, 5+ 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+ day, 12+ hour ago (158+ words) Dozens of volunteers of the Coast Christian Fellowship come together to prep and'serve Thanksgiving Day dinner to their'guests at Torrance, CA on November 27th, 2025. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer) "Tis the season of giving " and a local church in Torrance opened its doors on Thanksgiving Day to serve its neighbors in need. Coast Christian Fellowship Church celebrated its 27th year of serving the community during its annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner. Last year, the church prepared and served close to 500 meals. This year, officials anticipated serving the same number of meals or even more. On Thursday morning, Nov. 27, volunteers helped serve their fellow churchgoers and other community members with a warm and delicious Thanksgiving meal inside the church hall, which was decorated in fall decor. In addition to serving meals, Coast Christian Fellowship members came together to collect and distribute non-perishable food…...

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+ hour ago (513+ words) It's no wonder that the heavens opened up and flooded the earth with tears when Rabbi Gilbert Kollin passed away on November 12, 2025, at the age of 91. He was like a cup of kindness. It was in his handshake, his hug, his greeting. It was the way his smile came through the phone, which is basically how our friendship began. Although he was my Rabbi at Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, I did not know him very well when I learned I had breast cancer. Feeling an aching need to talk to my Rabbi, I called and left him a disjointed phone message ending with something like, "I'm not even sure why I called." He returned the call several times, and when I did not respond he finally left a message saying he would like to come see me the following…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (526+ words) A high school senior from Downey will be among the young people who ask Pope Leo XIV questions during a first-ever digital encounter at this year's National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis. Ezequiel Ponce, 17, a senior at Downey High School who belongs to St. Dominic Savio Church in Bellflower, is one of a select few teens who earned the opportunity to ask questions to Pope Leo in a historical digital Q&A on Friday, Nov. 21, during the second day of the NCYC. Pope Leo will address more than 15,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 18 at the conference, which this year is being held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, according to an Archdiocese of Los Angeles press release. In previous years, Pope Francis had sent video messages to NCYC attendees, but this event will be the first time…...

1+ day, 21+ hour ago (969+ words) By NICOLE WINFIELD, ANDREW WILKS and MEHMET GUZEL, Associated Press 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 Jesus prayed and gave his life," he said. The prayer marked the highlight of Leo's visit to Turkey and the main reason for his trip, the first of his pontificate. The Nicaea…...

2+ week, 5+ 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…...

4+ day, 23+ 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…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (334+ words) 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 about what is happening." He said "the spiritual rights of people who have been detained should also be considered," and he called on authorities to allow pastoral workers access to the detained migrants. "Many times theyve been separated from their families. No one knows whats happening, but their…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (514+ words) By NICOLE WINFIELD and PAOLO SANTALUCIA The two-volume Borso D'Este Bible, which is known for its opulent miniature paintings in gold and Afghan lapis lazuli, was unveiled in the Italian Senate, where it will remain on display until Jan. 16. The Bible is usually kept in a safe at a library in Modena and is rarely seen in public. It was transported to Rome under heavy security and its arrival in the Senate was televised, as workers hauled two big red crates from an unmarked van and then extracted the volumes, which were covered in bubble wrap. The Bible, commissioned by Duke Borso D'Este, was created between 1455 and 1461 by calligrapher Pietro Paolo Marone and illustrators Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi. The Italian Culture Ministry considers it one of the highest expressions of miniature art "that unites sacred value, historic relevance,…...