Religion News

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment that had been supplied by mediators to clear rubble.

Pope Francis ’ funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, and a viewing of his body will begin on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, days after the popular pontiff died of a stroke at age 88 .

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis was thankful that he was able to greet throngs of people in St. Peter’s Square on Easter, a day before he died , though he initially had some doubts given his poor health, Vatican News reported Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Anti-Defamation League says the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States reached a record high last year and notes that 58% of the 9,354 incidents related to Israel, notably chants, speeches and signs at rallies protes

BERLIN (AP) — Walter Frankenstein, who survived the Holocaust by hiding in Berlin with his wife and infant children and spent his later years educating young people to keep the events alive in memory, has died. He was 100.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world when he announced his resignation in 2013, the first in 600 years. That led some to wonder if, as he grew increasingly frail and sick, Pope Francis would follow that precedent.

NEW YORK (AP) — Fears of a “generosity crisis” have dogged nonprofit fundraisers for much of this century as they experienced precipitous drops in U.S. household donations.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Few moments in Pope Francis’ papacy better exemplify his understanding of climate change and the need to address it than the rain-soaked Mass he celebrated in Tacloban, Philippines, in 2015.

Advocating for migrants was one of Pope Francis' top priorities.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The death of Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through Iraq’s Christian community, where his presence once brought hope after one of the darkest chapters in the country’s recent history.