'God is on your side': Group of US Catholic bishops call for support, defend LGBT youth against bullying

Declaring “God is on your side,” a Roman Catholic cardinal, an archbishop and six other U.S. bishops are declaring their support for LGBT youth and denouncing the bullying often directed at them.

Biden attends mass at same DC church he worshipped at as VP

President Joe Biden attended Mass for the first time since taking office, worshipping Sunday at the church he frequented when he was vice president.

Calvary Chapel pastors appear in contempt of court case

A South Bay church that’s repeatedly defied a county health order barring indoor gatherings was back in court on Thursday.

Pope Francis says women can read at Mass, but still can't be priests

Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly allow women to do more things during Mass, while reaffirming they cannot be priests.

Pope prays for dead in Capitol rioting, appeals for calm

Pope Francis said Sunday that he is praying for those who died in the U.S. Capitol rioting and has appealed for calm to prevail in the United States to help safeguard that nation's democratic values.

Bay Area Jewish leaders respond to anti-Semitic symbolism displayed at Capitol

In the hours that followed Wednesday's siege at the Capitol, rabbis around the Bay Area offered immediate support to Jewish congregants. Many were alarmed by anti-Semitic symbolism and references to the Holocaust they'd seen on the news.

California widow of drowned family establishes scholarship fund at Jewish school in childrens' name

Sarah Wyman created the fund to honor her children, ages 4 and 7, who are presumed dead from a Jan. 3 drowning accident. A sneaker wave at Blind Beach in Jenner snatched up the children from the beach, and her husband, Michael Wyman, 40, raced in to save them. He drowned, and the children have not been found.

Pope Francis misses Vatican New Year's ceremonies due to back pain

Francis was suffering from "painful sciatica" and could not preside at an hour-long, year-end prayer service Thursday evening, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Bill legalizing abortion passes in Pope Francis' native Argentina

Abortion will be legalized in Pope Francis' homeland up to the 14th week of pregnancy, and also will be legal after that time in cases of rape or danger to the mother’s life.

Calvary church leaders found in contempt of court over COVID violations

In San Jose, a church lost another round in court today, for repeatedly violating health orders that limit or prohibit indoor services.

Supreme Court orders review of church COVID rules

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down an order Thursday that could affect the future of indoor religious services for churches in California.

Takeaways from Vatican's McCarrick report as US bishops meet

U.S. Catholic bishops are meeting this week for their annual fall assembly, with the Vatican report into the rise and fall of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick one of their main topics for discussion

San Jose church continues to violate COVID-19 orders after $300K in fines

Calvary Chapel has been hosting weekly indoor service with about 600 people who are not wearing masks or social distancing, county officials said in a statement on Friday. 

San Francisco Archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150 supporters before holding a special Mass inside St. Raphael Catholic Church and an expected march to a Planned Parenthood clinic.

Pope: Market capitalism has failed in pandemic, needs reform

Francis on Sunday laid out his vision for a post-COVID world by uniting the core elements of his social teachings into a new encyclical aimed at inspiring a revived sense of the human family.