The bells are back at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. They’ll ring for the post-fire reopening
(AP News)
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is getting its bells back, just in time for the medieval landmark’s reopening following a devastating 2019 fire.
AP News
EAST TIMOR
How does the huge crowd for the pope’s Mass in East Timor compare to others?
(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. AP News)
Popes are popular. So much so that nearly half the population of East Timor gathered Tuesday in a seaside park for Pope Francis’ final Mass in the small Southeast Asian country whose people are deeply Catholic
DENMARK
Man in Denmark faces preliminary terrorism charges over arson at a Jewish woman’s home
(JAN M. OLSEN. AP News)
A 21-year-old man in Denmark was arrested on Tuesday for arson after allegedly setting a fire at a Jewish woman’s home in Copenhagen, and he faced preliminary court charges under the country’s terrorism laws that could lead to a life sentence.
POPE FRANCISCO
Francis will be only the second pope to visit Singapore, one of the wealthiest nations
(AP News)
When Pope Francis arrives Wednesday in Asia’s financial powerhouse Singapore for the last leg of a four-nation tour, he is expected to bring his message of unity and hope to one of the world’s richest nations
U.S.
The Mormon church’s oldest-ever president has turned 100
(HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and DEEPA BHARATH. AP News)
Leaders of worldwide religions commonly stay at the helm well past retirement age, but it’s not often you find centenarians overseeing major faiths
PHILIPPINES
How did a popular Philippine televangelist land on the FBI’s most-wanted list?
(JIM GOMEZ. AP News)
n his heyday, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy was one of the most influential religious leaders and televangelists in the Philippines. Proclaiming himself as the “appointed son of God,” he also was a political kingmaker who backed former President Rodrigo Duterte
POPE FRANCISCO
Pope cheers East Timor’s recovery while acknowledging a bishop’s abuse scandal
(NICOLE WINFIELD and NINIEK KARMINI. AP News)
Pope Francis received a raucous welcome Monday as he arrived in East Timor to celebrate its recovery from a bloody and traumatic independence battle, even as he indirectly acknowledged an abuse scandal involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning hero
LOOP
Grief over Gaza and qualms over US election add up to anguish for many Palestinian Americans
(MARIAM FAM. AP News)
Demoralized by the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian American Samia Assed found in Vice President Kamala Harris’ ascension — and her running mate pick — “a little ray of hope.”
POPE FRANCISCO
Activists criticize high cost of Pope Francis’ visit to East Timor, one of the poorest nations
(NINIEK KARMINI. AP News)
East Timor pulled out all stops for Pope Francis’ historic visit to one of the world’s youngest and poorest countries to the tune of $12 million, drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organizations in a nation where almost half the population lives in poverty
POPE FRANCISCO
Pope to meet Papua New Guinea Catholics who embrace both Christianity and Indigenous beliefs
(ROD McGUIRK. AP News)
Pope Francis’s visit to Papua New Guinea will take him to a remote part of the South Pacific island nation where Christianity is a recent addition to traditional spiritual beliefs developed over millennia.
INDONESIA
Catholics face a shortage of priests. But one Indonesian seminary is overwhelmed with applicants
(NINIEK KARMINI. AP News).
Arnoldus Yansen thought for certain he was going to become a Catholic priest, just like his older brother, cousin and uncle.
EAST TIMOR´S
The AP Interview: East Timor’s president says the pope’s visit isn’t time to dwell on past sins
(ADAM SCHRECK. AP News)
The president of East Timor sees Pope Francis’ upcoming visit as a prime opportunity to promote Asia’s youngest country on the world stage, not a time to confront the legacy of abuse by influential members of the clergy in the deeply Catholic nation.
IRAQ
Iraqi women fear rise in child marriages as lawmakers consider giving conservative clerics more say
(STELLA MARTANY and KAREEM CHEHAYEB. AP News)
Shaimaa Saadoun is haunted by her memory of being forced into an abusive marriage to a 39-year-old man just after she turned 13
POPE FRANCISCO
In Asia, pope urges Indonesia to live up to promise of ‘harmony in diversity,’ fight extremism
(NICOLE WINFIELD and EDNA TARIGAN. AP News)
Pope Francis urged Indonesia to live up to its promise of “harmony in diversity” and fight religious intolerance on Wednesday, as he set a rigorous pace for an 11-day, four-nation trip through tropical Southeast Asia and Oceania that will test his stamina and health
PAKISTAN
A Pakistani religious leader is tried in his absence for allegedly threatening Geert Wilders
(MIKE CORDER.AP News)
Prosecutors demanded a 14-year sentence Monday for a Pakistani Muslim leader accused of inciting the murder of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, the leader of the party that won last year’s general election in the Netherlands
POPE FRANCISCO
Pope Francis’ Asia trip marks 60 years of papal visits to the region
(DAVID RISING. AP News)
Pope Francis’ visit to Southeast Asia, the longest trip in his papacy, is the latest in decades of regular papal visits to the Asia-Pacific region.
POPE FRANCISCO
Pope embarks on longest, farthest and most challenging trip to Asia, with China in the background
(NICOLE WINFIELD. AP News)
f any evidence were needed to underscore that Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Asia and Oceania is the longest, farthest and most challenging of his pontificate, it’s that he’s bringing along his secretaries to help him navigate the four-country program while keeping up with work back home.
U.S.
Catholic diocese sues US government, worried some foreign-born priests might be forced to leave
(GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO. AP News)
For more than a year, religious organizations have lobbied Congress and the Biden administration to fix a sudden procedural change in how the government processes green cards for religious workers, which threatens the ability of thousands of them to continue to minister in the United States.
INDONESIA
Catholics face a shortage of priests. But one Indonesian seminary is overwhelmed with applicants
(NINIEK KARMINI. AP News)
Arnoldus Yansen thought for certain he was going to become a Catholic priest, just like his older brother, cousin and uncle.
POPE FRANCISCO
Pope will visit the Istiqlal mosque in Indonesia on the first stop of an interfaith Asian trip
(EDNA TARIGAN and ANDI JATMIKO. AP News)
When Pope Francis begins his Asia tour next week, one of his early stops will be at Indonesia’s iconic Istiqlal mosque.