Religion News

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshipers, including many women and children.

BEIJING (AP) — China's famous Shaolin Temple announced on Sunday that its abbot is under investigation on suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement of project funds and temple assets.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The archbishop of Warsaw, Poland , has asked the Vatican to defrock a priest charged with the killing of a 68-year-old homeless man who was beaten with an ax and set on fire.

Faith leaders across the U.S. are hoping a bipartisan bill, recently introduced in the U.S. Senate and House, might finally bring resolution to an immigration issue that has been hindering their service to their communities for more than two years.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula,

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in northern India left at least six people dead and dozens injured, local authorities said Sunday.

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Long-festering tensions over border territory have escalated into armed conflict between Cambodia and Thailand , leading to dozens of deaths on both sides and displacing tens of thousands of people.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military announced that airdrops of aid would begin Saturday night in Gaza , and humanitarian corridors will be established for United Nations convoys, after increasing accounts of starvation-related deaths .

NEW YORK (RNS) — New York Zendo Shobo-ji was quiet on a Saturday morning in late June, far removed from the muted hum and chatter that lingers in Lenox Hill, in Upper Manhattan, even on rainy summer days.

After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe.