Higher Ground

Pope Leo XIV greets faithful as he arrives at the 47th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples in Rimini, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo calls for dialogue over conflict, says young Catholics are a sign of hope

By Giada Zampano and Nicoolò Lupone - Associated Press

Pope Leo XIV used a visit to the tiny landlocked San Marino and a major Catholic gathering in the Italian city of Rimini on Saturday to issue one of his strongest appeals yet against war, polarization and social division, urging believers to foster dialogue and friendship in a fractured world.

Hayden Panettiere arrives at the 21st annual Critics' Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar on Jan. 17, 2016, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Commentary

Hayden Panettiere’s death reveals glaring Hollywood horror

By Billy Hallowell

Celebrated actress Hayden Panettiere’s death just days ago shocked the world, sparking touching tributes, intense lament — and important questions.

An Appeal To Heaven flag is pictured as people gather at Independence Mall to support President Donald Trump as he visits the National Constitution Center to participate in the ABC News town hall, Sept. 15, 2020, in Philadelphia. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is embroiled in a second flag controversy, this time over the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, a banner that in recent years has come to symbolize Christian nationalism and the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The flag was seen outside his New Jersey beach home last summer. (AP Photo/Michael Perez) **FILE**

Christian nationalists’ professed support for religious pluralism is often drowned out by perception

By Brooklyn Walker - Associated Press

Swiss tourist Luzian Andrin Zgraggen who is accused of insulting the Balinese Hinduism's sacred Day of Silence in social media posts covers his face upon arrival at the district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo)

Swiss tourist sentenced to a year in jail for insulting Bali’s sacred Day of Silence

Associated Press

Congress protecting children from Big Tech social media illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Commentary
Congress must put children ahead of Big Tech lobbyists

By Marcel van der Watt and Benjamin Bull

(Associated Press) ** FILE **

Bronx man charged with hate crimes in Manhattan synagogue attack, DOJ says

By The Washington Times AI News Desk

Roosevelt Toussaint, the senior pastor of the Word of Life Center church, points to empty parking spaces outside his church before a service, which he says is due to fear in the Haitian community of possible arrests and deportation in Salisbury, Md., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

Appeals court rules against ICE arrests at churches

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

Assisted suicide illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Commentary
Assisted suicide disguises murder as compassion

By Liana Graham and Dawson Knaul

Hostility toward religion illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Commentary

Growing hostility toward religion threatens humanity

By Frank Perley

Students work under Ten Commandments and Bill of Rights posters on display in a classroom at Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, file)

Supreme Court asked to review Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools

By Michael Kunzelman and Jamie Stengle - Associated Press

Mass. Democratic state Sen. Jamie Eldridge faces reporters as U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., left, looks on, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Marlborough, Mass., during an event held to encourage voters to cast their ballots for democrats in the 2020 general election. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Catholic League warns Massachusetts legislation would give preferential treatment to Muslims

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Lee Man-hee, a leader of Shincheonji Church, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Lee Young-hwan/Newsis via AP)

Seoul slammed over weaponized legal system targeting church leaders, new religions

By Andrew Salmon - The Washington Times

Vandalism at the World War II Memorial illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Commentary

The World War II Memorial still has a lesson for us

By Jimmy Lee Tillman II

A Christian pilgrim attends a Mass in the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, northern Israel, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel’s Christians rely on faith and allies as they fear rising harassment

By Giovanna Dell'Orto - Associated Press

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Jews illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Commentary

DSA’s rise carries a warning for American Jews

By Don Feder

Related Articles

Central Synagogue is seen on Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)

Hate crime charges filed in Manhattan synagogue attack

By The Associated Press - Associated Press

Hate crime charges have been filed against a man who disrupted Shabbat services in Manhattan's Central Synagogue and struck two people while being hustled outside Friday night.

Flags wave in the wind in front of an enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe's tallest during the inauguration in the village Konotopie, Poland, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)

Europe’s tallest statue of the Virgin Mary is inaugurated in a small Polish village

By Claudia Ciobanu and Rafal Niedzielski - Associated Press

An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe's tallest was inaugurated on Saturday in a small Polish village, financed by one of Poland's richest businesspeople.

Flowers adorn the lawn in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston on July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm) **FILE**

Commentary

Evil rages in Massachusetts as unborn babies lose protections

By Billy Hallowell

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." This line, a warning from the Prophet Isaiah, likely written between 739 and 681 BC, offers a timeless caution to humanity about what happens when we put our selfish whims above the Lord's truth.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during the Black Caucus meeting as part of the DNC Summer Meeting, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez) **FILE**

DNC interfaith meeting exposes party’s Israel-Gaza rift ahead of midterms

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

The Democratic Party's deep fractures over the Israel-Hamas conflict spilled into the open at its interfaith gathering Friday as Jewish and Palestinian American members squared off over charged phrases like "from the river to the sea" and the word "genocide."

The Caravan Orchestra & Choir performs during a Yiddish Summer Weimar event on July 24, 2026, in Weimar, Germany. (Shendl Copitman/Religion News Service via AP)

In Weimar, Germany, a festival preserves Yiddish culture while reinventing it

By David L. Klein - Associated Press

In Weimar, Germany, where the streets once echoed with the notes and ideas of Bach, Liszt and Goethe, another European musical tradition has been reverberating for more than a quarter-century: Yiddish.

A text book, shown Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 in Washington, to be used by the Pentagon this fall when they will begin implementing a curriculum that centers on Western civilization and Christianity in the schools it operates for military families, part of an effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning. (AP Photo)

U.S. military base schools put new emphasis on Western civilization and Christianity

By Annie Ma and Konstantin Toropin - Associated Press

The Department of Defense is introducing a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity this fall in the schools it operates for military families, part of an effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning.