TUCSON, Ariz. — Alvaro Enciso plants three or four crosses each week in Arizona’s desert borderlands, amid the yellow-blossomed prickly pear and whip-like ocotillo, in honor of migrants who died on the northbound trek.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the second time, the Ohio Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to prohibit K-12 schools and interscholastic organizations from blocking the wearing of religious apparel by athletes during sporting events.

ROME — Pope Francis refused Thursday to let German Cardinal Reinhard Marx resign over the sex abuse scandal in the German Church, but said a process of reform was necessary and that every bishop must take responsibility for the “catastrophe” of the crisis.

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Iowa Supreme Court justices last month upheld a county’s District Court decision limiting court involvement in religious matters, ruling in favor of a Davenport church in a defamation case.

GENOA TWP. — A Roman Catholic group dedicated to a popular Italian saint sued a southeastern Michigan township Wednesday after the local government rejected plans for a chapel and prayer trail in a wooded area.

Faith leaders, celebrities and lawmakers across the political spectrum joined Thursday to condemn a rise in antisemitic incidents around the world triggered by the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

LOS ANGELES — Cerritos College in Norwalk – where the majority of students are Latino and the first in their families to attend college – is a stone’s throw from Southern California’s famed “Little India,” a stretch of clothing and jewelry shops, groceries and restaurants in Artesia.

Jeff Weddle, a 46-year-old, wise-cracking, self-deprecating, Bible-loving, self-described “failing pastor” from Wisconsin, was already thinking of leaving the ministry before COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops plans to devote part of its national meeting next month to the sensitive issue of which Catholics are worthy of receiving Communion, despite calls for a delay.

One day, four ministers were standing around in a group, talking. And, as so often happens, they started “talking shop.” They were discussing the different translations of the Bible.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is set to decide soon whether conservative Christians have a constitutional right to refuse to work with same-sex couples while participating in a city-funded foster care program that forbids such discrimination.

U.S. soldiers were fighting in Korea when President Harry S. Truman signed a congressional resolution calling for an annual National Day of Prayer. The purpose was for people to gather in houses of worship to pray for world peace, according to an Associated Press report from April 17, 1952.

GRAND RAPIDS — Pope Francis has dismissed retired priest William “Father Bill” Langlois from the clerical state due to allegations of sexual abuse.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — If you think about it, we’ve all trudged through the past year as modern-day pilgrims, seeking solace as well as meaning and knowledge during a rough journey.

When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they'll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don't receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights.

Peggy Simon’s heart sank when one of her older clients told her that all she could do at Mass was sit and pray because she “couldn’t hear or understand anything.”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis in his traditional Easter Sunday address denounced as “scandalous” how armed conflicts continue to rage even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering and swollen the ranks of the poor.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In December, back when the nation was vaccinating its first health care workers against COVID-19 and uncertainty remained about when others would get the same opportunity, the Rev. Tony Liuzzo and his church were making what seemed like an impossible decision.

The largest Bible translation campaign to ever be introduced on social and digital media was launched this week – just in time for Easter.

VATICAN CITY — Trying to save jobs as the pandemic pummels Vatican revenues, Pope Francis has ordered pay cuts for cardinals and other clerics, as well as nuns, who work at the Holy See.

PHILADELPHIA — An undocumented Mexican woman who has spent more than three years inside Philadelphia churches to avoid deportation is expected to leave sanctuary soon, after federal immigration officials confirmed she is no longer a priority for enforcement.

In the hospital with COVID-19 in December, Lavina Wafer tired of the tubes in her nose and wondered impatiently why she couldn’t be discharged. A phone call with her pastor helped her understand that the tube was piping in lifesaving oxygen, which had to be slowly tapered to protect her.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Roman Catholic leaders in St. Louis, Missouri, and New Orleans are advising Catholics that the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, newly approved for use in the U.S., is "morally compromised" because it is produced using a cell line derived from an aborted fetus.

One of the No. 1 reasons people give for not being a part of the church is that it feels like the church is a hypocritical organization. One response to that is to take the approach of legendary Christian singer-songwriter Rich Mullins, who used to say the church isn’t full of hypocrites, we…

WASHINGTON — A sweeping bill that would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people is a top priority of President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress. Yet as the Equality Act heads to the Senate after winning House approval, its prospects seem bleak — to a large extent because o…

The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee voted Tuesday to oust four of its churches, two over policies deemed to be too inclusive of LGBTQ people and two more for employing pastors convicted of sex offenses.

One of the most consequential stories in American religion in recent years is the rapid and seemingly unceasing rise of “nones” – those who respond to questions about their religious affiliation by indicating that they are atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.”

DETROIT — Lent, the liturgical season of prayer, penance and almsgiving in preparation for Easter, has long been an annual beacon to Christians worldwide.

PORTLAND, Oregon — The new rector at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Portland's northwestern district says he felt the presence of God there early Wednesday when he confronted a burglar inside the Catholic church.