In this Sunday's first reading Moses admonishes the people of Israel to observe carefully the statutes and decrees he was setting forth so that other nations could say of them, "This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people." Critics say the U.S. government's apparent flouting of internationally accepted interrogation policies ...

As the leader and rule-giver of the Jewish people, Moses speaks to the people in this Sunday's first reading. For nearly a half-century Senator Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.) was a leader in the Senate who compiled an impressive list of legislative achievements on health care, civil rights, education, immigration, and other issues.

"Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls," we are counseled in this Sunday's reading from the Letter of James. Fire crews outside Athens battled wildfires over four days in an effort to save structures as well as souls.

Purification rituals of all sorts were part of daily life for many Jews in Jesus' time, we see in this Sunday's gospel. Pilgrims visiting Santiago de Compostela, Spain, one of the world's most popular religious shrines, are being asked not to follow the traditional practice of kissing the statue of Saint James ...

"This situation poses a serious threat to security and stability especially in developing countries and calls for urgent coordinated intervention on a global scale and locally by individual governments."

In the next ten years--and for the first time in human history--the number of people 65 and older will exceed those 5 and younger, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.