By FRANCIS X. ROCCA c. 2011 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) The late Pope John Paul II, who elevated unprecedented numbers of Catholic saints and blesseds during his 26-year reign, joined those ranks himself on Sunday (May 1), when he was beatified before a crowd of more than a million pilgrims. Pope Benedict XVI…

By YONAT SHIMRON c. 2011 Religion News Service DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) To many Americans, Thomas Jefferson is a symbol of liberty and religious freedom, the architect of American democracy and a standard bearer for progressive politics. But to members of America’s most liberal denomination, the slave-holding legacy of the nation’s third president has become a…

By NICOLE NEROULIAS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Would you rather see a movie about a sinner or a saint? The marketing team for the new Roland Joffe film, There Be Dragons, is going for a little of both. The film tells the story of St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, the founder of the…

By FRANCIS X. ROCCA c. 2011 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) The casket of the late Pope John Paul II was exhumed Friday (April 29), in preparation for the late pontiff’s beatification ceremony on Sunday. John Paul’s casket was removed in the early morning hours from its tomb in the Vatican Grottoes, under St.…

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