19+ hour, 14+ min ago (903+ words) US families queue for groceries, hot meals and baby supplies as demand at Trinity's Compassion Market soars On a chilly morning in Lower Manhattan this month, the line outside Trinity Commons, a modern extension of New York's historic Trinity church, stretched on past the end of the block. Hundreds of people were standing in the 44F cold, many with young children, waiting to get their turn for the Compassion Market food bank. "It's all the way down the block today," said Vidia Cordero, the church's deputy chief community impact officer. The bank had been open less than an hour and they had "already had 250 or so inside". In total, the famous church on Broadway saw more than 1,000 people the previous week on Tuesday and Thursday alone, the days on which the food bank is open. The immense amount of people in…...

1+ day, 12+ hour ago (453+ words) Trio given leave to stay in their abandoned convent near Salzburg until further notice, church officials say Three octogenarian nuns who gained a global following after breaking out of their care home and moving back to their abandoned convent near Salzburg have been given leave to stay in the nunnery "until further notice, church officials have said. The rebel sisters " Bernadette, 88, Regina, 86, and Rita, 82, all former teachers at the school adjacent to their convent " broke back into their old home of Goldenstein Castle in Elsbethen in September in defiance of their spiritual superiors. The story prompted headlines around the world. It also fostered a huge affection for the trio, who have built up a loyal following on social media where they post regular reports about their tumultuous experience and joy at their return. They have been helped by local supporters…...

1+ day, 17+ hour ago (720+ words) Robert Sullivan's self-imposed removal comes after accusations he provided financial support in exchange for arrangement which included sex A longtime Roman Catholic priest in Alabama has voluntarily left the clergy after a woman alleged to his superiors that he provided her financial support in exchange for "private companionship" including sex beginning when she was 17. Raica's letter said a subsequent church investigation into "the significant payments alleged to have been made by then-father Sullivan " found no link between the allegations and any diocesan, parish or school funds". "These four months since the allegations surfaced have been challenging in the life of our local church," Raica's letter added. "I am grateful for the patience and resilience of all who have been affected directly or indirectly by this matter." Members of the priesthood from which Sullivan, 61, chose to resign promise to be abstinent…...

2+ day, 16+ hour ago (249+ words) Pope Leo is making his debut overseas trip as leader of the Catholic church, travelling on a six-day mission of peace and unity to Turkey and Lebanon.Leo first met President Recep Tayyip Erdo'an in Ankara. He is also due to meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's 260 million Orthodox Christians, for celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of a major early church council in Nicaea, now "znik, which settled ideological disputes.Leo's arrival in Lebanon on Sunday afternoon comes during a period in which many fear a potential return to the two-month Israeli bombing campaign that blanketed southern Lebanon and Beirut last yearPope Leo arrives in Turkey on first overseas trip as pontiff Continue reading... Pope Leo gifted Thanksgiving pie during debut trip as Catholic church leader " video Pope Leo is making his debut overseas trip as leader of…...

2+ day, 23+ hour ago (907+ words) Vatican says "demanding" six-day mission, which will also take him to Lebanon, will be packed with meetings with political and religious leaders Pope Leo is making his debut overseas trip as leader of the Catholic church, travelling on a six-day mission of peace and unity to Turkey and Lebanon in what the Vatican said was expected to be a "demanding" schedule packed with meetings with political and religious leaders amid heightened Middle East tensions. The Chicago-born pontiff, who was elected in May, arrived on Tuesday in Turkey, a country with a Muslim majority and home to an estimated 36,000 Catholics. Leo first met President Recep Tayyip Erdo'an in Ankara. He is also due to meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world"s 260 million Orthodox Christians, for celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of a major early church council in Nicaea, now…...

4+ day, 9+ hour ago (337+ words) My former colleague Hugh Nowell, who has died aged 98, was for many years a senior figure at Grosvenor Books, a publishing company connected to the Moral Re-Armament movement. A co-founder of the firm in the early 1960s, Hugh continued there until his retirement at the age of 70 in 1997. During this time he worked as joint chief executive and then managing director. Grosvenor Books published " and still publishes " a variety of Christian and non-Christian titles, including children's books and magazines. Among its most successful releases was Listen to the Children, a book about family life by Annejet Campbell, which was published in 11 languages. Born in Runcorn, Cheshire, Hugh was the son of John, who ran the family tannery business, and Margaret (nee Vanes), who before her marriage had been a private tutor to the children of the Maharaja of Bangalore in India,…...

4+ day, 23+ hour ago (1177+ words) Still largely viewed as a peaceful philosophy, across much of south-east Asia, the religion has been weaponised to serve nationalist goals But beneath the surface, the Buddhism practised across Asia has shifted. While still widely followed as a peaceful, nonviolent philosophy, it has been weaponised, in some quarters, in the service of nationalism, and in support of governments embracing a global trend toward majoritarianism and autocracy. Fihar brought me tea in a delicate white cup but refused to sit. She stood with her gaze fixed on the open window overlooking the empty road. "Did you see the videos?" she asked. "It was purely against Muslims. "Don't go to their shops. Don't eat their food." Fihar was referring to a speech by a Buddhist monk named Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara. By 2023, Sri Lanka had no shortage of controversial clergy, but Gnanasara stood…...

5+ day, 3+ hour ago (304+ words) The 65-year-old woman shocked temple staff when they heard a faint knocking and she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation 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…...

5+ day, 3+ hour ago (304+ words) The 65-year-old woman shocked temple staff when they heard a faint knocking and she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation 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…...

6+ day, 14+ hour ago (238+ words) Trump's wrecking-ball approach to America has a precedent: the Maga evangelical perversion of Jesus's message of radical love to one of hate and aggression As disorienting as it is to watch the president try to upend the old idea of democracy and replace it with its polar opposite, there is one large group of Americans who should not find it completely novel. That is those of us " in older age cohorts a near majority " who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians. What particularly hurts is the fact that at no point did we manage to fight back, not effectively anyway. Without intending to, we surrendered control of the idea of Jesus. It is a story that may provide some insights into how to fight the attack on democracy. In the 60 years since, all that has changed; the mainline denominations are…...