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CHICAGO — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the upbeat hoop-head Loyola University Chicago chaplain who became an adored national figure during the school’s 2018 run to the Final Four, died Thursday in Chicago. She was 106.

Loyola announced her death late Thursday night; a cause was not announced.

An omnipresent fixture at basketball games at ...Read more

Q: I just read your column about Heaven, and loved it. I, too, believe our souls are reunited with those we have lost. My question is, when you said the concept of Heaven began in the rabbinic times, do we know what caused them to think this after never having believed in Heaven before? Thank you for your columns. I find them enjoyable and ...Read more

The public clash between Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki over whether U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin should receive a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Keep Hope Alive program has spilled into the public square with damaging effect.

What might have been an internal disagreement has ...Read more

BALTIMORE — As the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case enters its third year, there is still a gap worth hundreds of millions of dollars in court between the nation’s first diocese and the survivors of rampant sexual abuse throughout its parishes and schools.

That difference and a seeming lack of progress toward resolution, a judge...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The ambulance siren blared down the quiet residential street where a 4-year-old boy was dying.

When police and paramedics arrived at 1521 Latham St. in Colton, California, they had no clue they were entering the home of a secretive religious group that — years later — would land in the spotlight after two members were ...Read more

NEW YORK — The deadly synagogue attack in England resonated across the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, with the NYPD monitoring the investigation and keeping a watchful eye on houses of worship as Jews throughout New York celebrate Yom Kippur.

“We are tracking the incident in Manchester, England,” the NYPD posted on X. “At this time, there ...Read more

DETROIT — Detroit-area faith leaders are encouraging churches, mosques, synagogues and other houses of worship to review their security plans as area faithful feel shaken after two attacks targeting Michigan churches in a little more than three months.

Even before Sunday's tragedy that left five people dead, including the suspected shooter, ...Read more

We are in a Heaven mode here at the God Squad and I can tell you absolutely that one of the most frequent questions I am asked by my dear Christian readers is whether Jews believe in Heaven. Here is an example:

Q: As an evangelical Christian, I am still puzzled: do Jews believe there is a physical Heaven, or not. I admit that I am most ...Read more

In his first major climate speech, Pope Leo XIV renewed the Vatican’s vow to remain at the forefront of the movement to halt global warming.

“We must shift from collecting data to caring, and from environmental discourses to an ecological conversion that transforms both personal and communal lifestyles,” Pope Leo XIV said on Tuesday, ...Read more

SEATTLE — The organizers of a conservative Christian rally earlier this year in Seattle are suing the city — and Mayor Bruce Harrell individually — over what they say was a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech, religion and assembly.

The Mayday USA rally last May, part of a five-city tour to advocate for the “...Read more

The most important religious revolution of our time isn’t happening in mosques or churches. It’s happening on screens.

For millions of young Muslims around the world, the spiritual life that once flowed through the mosque is now being livestreamed from a bedroom, uploaded to YouTube and shared on TikTok. Twitch preachers, Instagram sheikhs,...Read more

BALTIMORE — She levitates above her chair. An old man hurls a priest across the room. A young woman speaks full paragraphs in Bulgarian, a language she’s never studied. A man’s skin blisters at the sight of a crucifix.

In interviews with The Baltimore Sun, exorcists claimed these are not movie scenes but moments they’ve witnessed ...Read more

Every year I offer a brutally condensed version of my Jewish High Holiday sermon along with my wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all my readers, Jewish and not, because such wishes are needed by us all. Shana Tova!

One of the very best questions I ever heard was from a young Jewish woman. She asked this question, “Who will shelter us...Read more

If the rapture were to occur, many Americans say they’d be left behind, according to new polling.

In the latest YouGov survey, less than half of respondents expressed confidence they would ascend to heaven in such an end-of-days scenario.

However, majorities of several demographics — including Republicans, Southerners and adults over 65 �...Read more

Q: What if you have no family and few friends? And you're ill and in pain and only death will end it? And you'd rather leave what money you have to various charities then use it up paying for care that may prolong life but won't cure or even reduce pain, but keep one around increasingly unable to do self-care, etc.? – (From S)

A: ...Read more

On 9/11 I was the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and because of my position I was asked to deliver one of the speeches at the 9/11 memorial service at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 24, 2001. I offer it up this year once again as a memorial to the dead and remembered ones but ...Read more

Q: I'm sincere in wishing we could sit down and talk about Heaven – it's SO much more than "the reward for righteous people.” Heaven is about RELATIONSHIP with God, just as this life is intended to be all about relationship with Him, and that connection positively impacting all our relationships, choices and behavior here. Besides that, ...Read more

Q: We've met at Monsignor Hartman’s events and you're an inspirational man. Your commitment and love for faith is contagious. I'm in a health crisis. I have lymphoma that's spread to my chest. The effects of chemotherapy, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, diarrhea and sickness have been overbearing. I have a handgun in a lockbox and have ...Read more