Religion News

Jewish community in Guatemala resettles, claiming harassment

By AFP

Guatemala City - A community of Orthodox Jews living outside Guatemala's capital moved out Sunday, claiming persecution because of their faith.The 500-strong group hails from the United States, Israel, Canada, several European countries, Mexico and El Salvador.

Pope urges 'sincere dialogue' as he meets Nice attack victims

By AFP

Rome - Pope Francis on Saturday called for a "sincere dialogue" between Christians and Muslims as he met grieving relatives and survivors of France's Bastille Day attack, in which a jihadist ploughed his truck into a crowd.

Pope to meet families of Nice attack victims

By AFP

Rome - Pope Francis will on Saturday hold a multi-faith meeting of grieving relatives and survivors of an attack in France in July when a jihadist ploughed his truck into a crowd in Nice.

Mexican priest disappears after two others killed

By AFP

Morelia - A priest has disappeared in Mexico's troubled western state of Michoacan along with a teenage boy, officials said, the same week two more clerics were killed in another region.

'World thirsts for peace', pope tells religious leaders

By AFP

Assisi - Pope Francis said Tuesday the world "thirsts for peace" after praying with faith leaders for an end to religious fanaticism and indifference to the plight of war victims.

Two priests murdered in Mexico

By AFP

Coatzacoalcos - Two priests were found dead in eastern Mexico hours after they were kidnapped from their church, raising the number of Catholic clergymen killed in the country to 14 since 2012.

Don't confuse Islam and terror, says French Muslim woman

By AFP

Paris - A young French Muslim woman who lost three family members in the July 14 jihadist attack on Nice made an impassioned plea Monday not to confuse the Islamic faith with terrorism.

Former Vatican exorcist dies

By AFP

Vatican City - The former exorcist of the Vatican and the Diocese of Rome, Gabriele Amorth, has died aged 91, Italian media on Sunday quoted his entourage as saying.

One in four French Muslims in 'revolt' against secular laws

By AFP

Paris - Around one in four French Muslims, mostly young people, support an ultra-conservative form of Islam, including the wearing of the full-face veil, but the vast majority accept France's strict secular laws, a study showed Sunday.

Sunni Islam riven anew by ancient dispute

By AFP

Cairo - An old rift at the heart of Sunni Islam that once saw clerics brawl outside a mosque in medieval Baghdad has emerged again, only this time they are fighting it out on social media.

Pope makes surprise visit to Rome hospitals

By AFP

Rome - Pope Francis made surprise visits to two Rome hospitals on Friday, the Vatican said, continuing his monthly series of unannounced trips.

Murder in God's name 'satanic', pope says at mass for slain priest

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Wednesday denounced killing in God's name as "satanic" as he held a mass to honour Jacques Hamel, the French priest whose throat was slit by jihadists in July.

Indonesian clerics issue fatwa against forest fires

By AFP

Jakarta - Indonesia's top Islamic clerical body said Wednesday it has issued a fatwa against intentionally starting forest fires in a bid to stop the blazes that cloak Southeast Asia in haze every year.

Educate Europe's refugees for rebuilding at home: Dalai Lama

By AFP

Paris - The Dalai Lama on Tuesday urged Europe to emphasise education for the hundreds of thousands of refugees that have arrived mainly from the war-torn Middle East as a means of rebuilding their home countries.

Pope to honour slain French priest with Vatican mass

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis will celebrate mass on Wednesday in honour of Jacques Hamel, the French priest who died in July after having his throat slit by Islamist militants.

Catholic Church to have prayer day for sex abuse victims

By AFP

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Monday announced plans for a worldwide day of prayer for the victims of sexual abuse, in line with a proposal from his child protection panel.

Assad vows to retake all of Syria, hours before truce

By AFP

Damascus - Syria's President Bashar al-Assad vowed to retake all of Syria from "terrorists," hours before a truce brokered by Russia and the United States was due to take hold on Monday.

Afghans mark Eid with prayers for peace

By AFP

Kabul - Millions of war-weary Afghans on Monday marked the Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Adha with prayers and feasting, hopeful of a brief respite from fighting that has seen record-breaking losses this year.

Orthodox spiritual head mourns WWII death camp victims

By AFP

Jasenovac - Visiting ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, considered the spiritual head of Orthodox church leaders, on Saturday commemorated the victims of Croatia's most notorious World War II death camp.

Throngs mourn Spanish Catholic sister shot dead in Haiti

By AFP

Port-au-prince - Throngs of mourners attended the funeral Thursday for a Catholic sister from Spain who was shot dead last week on a highway in Haiti.

Former pope Benedict thanks God for retirement

By AFP

Berlin - Retired pope Benedict XVI says he has no regrets about his 2013 decision to retire and thanks God for enabling him to recover his "freedom" from the responsibilities associated with leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Muslims crowd Mecca ahead of hajj

By AFP

Mecca - Close to 1.5 million Muslims from around the world had descended Thursday on Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage, undeterred by last year's stampede disaster but with Iranians absent.

Turkey court acquits famed pianist of blasphemy charges

By AFP

Ankara - A Turkish court acquitted world-renowned pianist Fazil Say of blasphemy on Wednesday, four years after he first went on trial on charges of insulting Islam in a case that raised alarm about freedom of expression in Turkey.

Pokemon Go 'is blasphemous', Indian court told

By AFP

Ahmedabad - Pokemon Go is blasphemous and should be banned, an Indian court was told Wednesday, because it rewards religious vegetarians with virtual eggs.

Iran-Saudi war of words heats up ahead of hajj

By AFP

Tehran - A bitter war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia intensified Wednesday ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage from which Iranians have been excluded for the first time in decades.

Tehran-Riyadh war of words hots up as Iranians miss hajj

By AFP

Tehran - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Saudi authorities of "bigoted extremism" late Tuesday in an increasingly bitter war of words over Iran's exclusion from this year's hajj pilgrimage.

Myanmar Buddhists jeer ex-UN chief on peace mission

By AFP

Cox's Bazar - Hundreds of Buddhists jeered former UN chief Kofi Annan as he arrived in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state Tuesday to examine a bitter religious conflict that has displaced tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya.

Iran's Khamenei blasts Saudi management of holy sites

By AFP

Tehran - With Iranians blocked from this month's hajj pilgrimage, their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a furious rebuke to rival Saudi Arabia, saying the Muslim world should challenge its management of Islam's holiest sites."Saudi rulers...

Poor Hungary town eyes riches of Suleiman the Magnificent

By AFP

Szigetv - The recent discovery of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, considered the greatest Ottoman ruler, has raised hopes of a tourism boom in one of Hungary's most impoverished areas.