Religion News

Sharing lunch is rarely historic, except perhaps when the two people dining are a living pope and his predecessor.

Sister Simone Campbell has been in the spotlight since last April, when the Vatican criticized U.S. nuns for focusing on social justice but not speaking out enough against abortion, birth control and gay marriage.

A Jesuit priest whose kidnapping by the Argentine military in 1976 has raised the issue of what role newly named Pope Francis played in that country’s so-called “dirty war” said Friday that he was “reconciled to the events” and wished the pope well, but he did not explicitly absolve the pope of involvement in his detention.

The choice of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope was so surprising, the Italian bishops sent out an email congratulating the wrong man.

A priest visiting from Colombia and arrested on suspicion of sexual battery and molestation of a teenage girl in Yuba City must turn over his passport, Sutter Superior Court Judge Susan Green ruled Tuesday.

Continuing its push to add secular degrees to its theological offerings, Rocklin's William Jessup University will make its first foray into the sciences by offering a biology degree this spring.

The cardinals who enter the papal conclave on Tuesday will troop into the Sistine Chapel in single file, but beneath the orderly display, they are split into competing lineups and power blocs that will determine which man among them emerges as pope.

Despite his good grades, his athletic prowess and what his mother described as his "good spirit," DeAndre Ellison couldn't resist the magnetic pull of south Sacramento's gang life.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who last week renounced what for nearly 600 years has been a lifelong office, will reverberate for years to come and could change the nature of the modern papacy, starting with the election of his successor.

When the First United Methodist Church in Roseville opened 130 years ago, even the bars stopped serving to pay their respects.

The Rev. Colin Macdonald, a Catholic priest who led a fast-growing Roseville parish and oversaw construction of one of the biggest churches in the Sacramento Diocese, died Feb. 22 at 75.

The sudden resignation of the most senior Catholic cardinal in Britain, who stepped aside Monday in the face of accusations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward priests years ago, showed that the impact of scandal could force a cardinal out of participating in the selection of a new pope.

When the First Methodist Church in Roseville opened 130 years ago, even the bars stopped serving to pay their respects.

As cardinals from around the world begin arriving in Rome for a conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, new shadows have fallen over the delicate transition, which the Vatican fears might influence the vote and with it the direction of the Roman Catholic Church.

There is no formal nominating process for choosing the man to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, and campaigning for oneself is counterproductive.

More than 115,000 people in the Sacramento area can trace their ancestry to one of the cultures – Chinese, Vietnamese, Iu Mien and others – that celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Pope Benedict XVI presided over Ash Wednesday services, his final public Mass, at St. Peter's Basilica, thanking the faithful for their support during his nearly eight-year pontificate, which will end Feb. 28 when he becomes the first pope to resign in almost 600 years.

Hundreds of Catholic faithful made their way before a traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima on Thursday to offer up personal prayers, but also some for the world.