In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus criticizes false religious leaders, promising “they will receive a very severe condemnation.” The Vatican condemned religious officials who secretly taped meetings Pope Francis held with senior cardinals and then leaked them to the press. "Such actions are a serious betrayal . . .

The prophet Elijah comforts a widow frightened that she and her son will soon die from a famine, reassuring her that all will be well. Egyptian transportation authorities tried to reassure frightened tourists from around the world that it is safe to fly to Egypt . . .

The psalmist this Sunday assures us that the Lord secures justice for the oppressed. Ever since a bloody civil war tore the nation of China apart in 1949, Taiwan and Communist China have had different ideas about what constitutes justice . . .

This Sunday’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews promises that Christ will return to bring salvation to all those who turn to him. Seems more and more Americans are turning to regular use of prescription medications to save them from a growing list . . .

Few banks offer them anymore, but Christmas club accounts were once popular ways to save for holiday spending. You put away a small amount every week for a year, earned a tiny bit of interest, and couldn’t access the money until November. My grandmother did this for all 13 of her grandchildren.

“Unusual claims like evidence for alternate universes require a very high burden of proof.”

A growing share of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, including some who self-identify as atheists or agnostics as well as many who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.” Altogether, the religiously unaffiliated (also called the “nones”) now account for 23% of the adult population, up from 16% in 2007.