Religion News Service

 Pope Francis "hit out at 'cancel culture,'" as one headline put it. But the pontiff wasn't complaining about how the twitterverse had banished Ellen DeGeneres or urged a boycott of Dr. Seuss.

Phyllis Zagano: Francis and Vatican officials have repeatedly refuted claims that COVID-19 vaccines are morally tainted. That so many lay Catholics and clerics are ignoring church teachings demonstrates a large leak in the barque of Peter.

Sir Sidney Poitier changed the film world on the way to changing the larger world. Before Poitier's movies, "Black characters were jolly statuary — hoisting luggage, serving food, tending children — meant to decorate a white American's dream."

Beginning this week and continuing until Lent, Catholics will be listening to the Gospel of Mark at weekday Eucharists.

Southern Ohio is home to more than 70 earthworks constructed by the Indigenous Adena and Hopewell cultures. But the mounds have also taken on significance for other spiritual groups, who say they should be open to all.

In a paper published in December, Elizabeth Schrader and Joan Taylor argue that Magdalene, instead of referring to Mary's town of origin, may be an honorific from the Hebrew and Aramaic roots for "tower" or "magnified."

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese: Recent scientific discoveries about the universe suggest it may be time to update our theological imaginations about humanity's, and Earth's, place within it.

As Democrats struggle to revive talks over the stalled Build Back Better bill, Sen. Joe Manchin is facing pushback from religious groups frustrated by his support for work requirements for the child tax credit.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life defended the COVID-19 vaccine and called out those who spread “malinformation” to discredit the vaccine as peddling “pure nonsense.”

Community is more than gathering; it is more than numbers. Community is about belonging to self and other, a kind of democratized space and place that creates conditions for radical flourishing.

As a pandemic continues to beset the world, the economy blindsides us, and our cultural and political polarization worsens, we need someone like Cohen to help us answer: How did we get here?

The Catholic Diocese of Discord — where they "discuss theology, troll Protestants, play Minecraft, and pray the rosary" — may be the only U.S. Catholic community that has attracted most of its members through internet memes.

A lay Catholic group in Baltimore is pushing the pope to canonize six Black candidates. They also seek to change the canonization process to recognize the hardships African Americans have endured.

As a Christian, how could I justify taking a shot from someone who needs it more? Three things convinced me that I had to get the booster.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District, arguing that legal action is necessary to force the district to take the appropriate steps to restore federal funding for low-income and disadvantaged students who attend Catholic schools.

Rashad Hussain has been confirmed as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, making him the first Muslim American in the role.

A second painting of Jesus and his mother, Mary, in which Jesus is widely thought to be depicted as George Floyd, has been stolen from the walls of the Catholic University of America’s law school.

Phyllis Zagano: Christians soon will welcome a newborn child to the world. But in 2,000 years, the story of the Christ child has taught us nothing.

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese: The U.S. Supreme Court seems to be more and more sympathetic to government funding of education at religiously affiliated schools. 

Commentary: The sheer numbers suggest that social media falsehoods are shared by well-meaning people. Most of those who spread misinformation likely believe they are being righteous. Why do bad retweets come from good people?