Tag - church

 
 

CHURCH

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis during his funeral at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 26, 2025
Cardinal says Pope Francis' legacy must survive as funeral draws tens of thousands
Presidents, royalty and a multitude of Catholic mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at his funeral.
Pope Francis, a reformer known for his humility, inclusivity and focus on social justice, passed away at 88, leaving behind a divided church and a legacy of advocating for humanity's most vulnerable.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2025
The Catholic church loses a lion
Francis’ spirit of inclusion should define who we are as human beings and his compassion should be the lodestar for action, both personal and political.
Cardinals stand, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 24, 2025
Who will be the next pope? Some hints to watch for
The process to choose a new pope is long and secretive, with most of the world's 252 cardinals coming to Rome to take part.
The government plans to send Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to the funeral of Pope Francis.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025
Japan plans to send foreign minister to pope's funeral
The head of the Catholic Church died Monday at the age of 88. His funeral is due to take place at the Vatican on Saturday.
Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin to Saint Peter's Basilica, on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 24, 2025
Thousands honor Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica
Mourners flood the Vatican to bid farewell to the late Pope Francis, whose funeral will be held Saturday, with world leaders set to attend.
Pope Francis was known for his strong environmentalism, highlighted by his influential 2015 encyclical calling for global climate action.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 23, 2025
The next pope will help decide the planet’s fate
As much of the world retreats from climate activism, the Vatican has a chance to stand out by choosing another vocal environmentalist to lead 1.4 billion Catholics.
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his trip to Nagasaki Prefecture in November 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 22, 2025
Japan joins world in mourning death of Pope Francis
Leaders commended the pontiff’s lifelong efforts in delivering the message of peace, which included a trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Candles and flowers are placed next to images of the late Pope Francis at the entrance of the Buenos Aires Cathedral on Monday.
WORLD / Society
Apr 22, 2025
What happens after the pope dies?
The Catholic Church will first enter a period known as "Sede Vacante," during which a senior cardinal takes over day-to-day affairs.
A portrait of the late Pope Francis is placed in front of the altar during a mass at the Buenos Aires Cathedral on Monday, following his death in the Vatican.
WORLD / Society
Apr 22, 2025
'One isn't born a saint': School nuns remember Pope Francis as a boy
A boisterous child, then-Jorge Bergoglio played football with his friends in the courtyard, and sprinted up and down the marble stairs.
Members of the clergy celebrate Mass in memory of Pope Francis, following the death of the pontiff, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, in La Paz, Bolivia, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025
A conclave to test Pope Francis’ legacy
Francis unraveled many knots after his elevation in March 2013, leaving the question of whether he did enough to secure his legacy now that he’s passed.
Argentine artist Javier Sativa draws the face of the late Pope Francis on a street in front of the entrance of the Buenos Aires Cathedral on Monday. Francis died Monday at 88, a day after making a much hoped-for appearance at St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday, the Vatican said in a statement.
WORLD
Apr 22, 2025
Pope Francis' death from a stroke sets off global tributes and mourning
World leaders from U.S. President Donald Trump to Russian leader Vladimir Putin paid tribute to the pope's moral and spiritual leadership.
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
WORLD
Apr 21, 2025
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Francis' often turbulent reign was marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the main balcony of St. Peter's basilica during the Urbi et Orbi message as part of Easter celebrations on Sunday.
WORLD
Apr 20, 2025
Pope wishes 'Happy Easter' to faithful in appearance at St Peter's Square
The Pope's address, read out, condemned "worrisome" anti-Semitism, and the "deplorable" situation in Gaza.
The Unification Church decided in June 2009 to give its residual assets to Tenchi Seikyo, based in the Hokkaido city of Obihiro, if the group is disbanded.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2025
Hokkaido group set as recipient of Unification Church assets
The controversial group decided in June 2009 to give its residual assets to Tenchi Seikyo, based in the Hokkaido city of Obihiro.
The Unification Church's Tokyo headquarters in Shibuya Ward. The group is appealing a district court order stripping it of its religious corporation status.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2025
Unification Church appeals stripping of religious corporation status
The group argued that the district court order was decided as a foregone conclusion and ignored law and the facts.
Christian worshippers take part in a Good Friday procession as they carry a cross with a Jesus statue in the town of Klayaa, in southern Lebanon, on March 29, 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2025
Can the Jesus of history support the Christ of faith?
I would not expect a non-Christian writer to simply embrace the thesis that events in the New Testament did mostly happen as related.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and others attend a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
Opposition urges LDP to reinvestigate ties with Unification Church
The move comes following a court order to strip the group of its religious corporation status.
Tatsuo Hashida (second from right), head of a group representing victims who suffered from having given large donations to the Unification Church in Kochi Prefecture, speaks during a news conference in Kochi on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2025
Unification Church victims voice joy over stripping of group's legal status
The Tokyo District Court stripped the controversial group of its religious corporation status on Tuesday.
Nobuya Fukumoto (far left), a lawyer for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, is surrounded by the media at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday after it ordered the group to be stripped of its religious corporation status.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2025
Tokyo court strips Unification Church of religious corporation status
The order against the group, heavily criticized for its coercive tactics in soliciting donations, removes its tax-exempt status.
Pope Francis appears at a window of Gemelli hospital in Rome on Sunday before being discharged after five weeks of treatment for pneumonia.
WORLD
Mar 23, 2025
Pope Francis leaves hospital after making first public appearance in five weeks
Francis, 88, went to hospital on Feb. 14 with a severe respiratory infection that became the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.