Wear something red. The color of the vestments worn by priests on Pentecost is red, to symbolize the love of the Holy Spirit, or the tongues of fire that appeared over the heads of the apostles on Pentecost.

There are mysteries that are so eerie and strange that they boggle the mind for days on end. The case of Elisa Lam is one of them. In February 2013, this 21-year-old student from Vancouver, Canada, was found dead inside the Cecil Hotel’s rooftop water tank in Los Angeles. MORE

A small group of political and religious leaders from the United States, including Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, met privately with Pope Francis at the Vatican today.

Part of a multiday, unofficial visit to Italy to promote ecumenical prayer and interfaith understanding, Lee was joined in the private audience by former U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne; Lakewood Church pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen; Tim Timmons, a pastor and author based in Newport Beach, California; and Gayle D. Beebe, president of Westmont College, an evangelical school in Santa Barbara, California. MORE

The Catholic Church in Ireland is facing fresh accusations of child neglect after a researcher found records for 796 young children believed to be buried in a mass grave beside a former orphanage for the children of unwed mothers.

The researcher, Catherine Corless, says her discovery of child death records at the Catholic nun-run home in Tuam, County Galway, suggests that a former septic tank filled with bones is the final resting place for most, if not all, of the children. MORE

Sure, the old saying goes, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

Once strongly aligned with the GOP, American physicians are leaning more left, an analysis of campaign contributions over two decades shows. MORE

These astonishing photographs show the apocalyptic scene of an 80 mph dust storm which killed five people and injured 30 more.

The storm struck yesterday in Iran’s capital Tehran, blacking out the sun in a swirling cloud for several minutes and tearing down trees.It also caused a chain-reaction crash involving 20 vehicles on a highway south of the capital – and international flights were cancelled. MORE

The decision to have an abortion is personal. Though your reasons may be complicated and private, you’re not alone. As religious leaders from a number of religious traditions, we’re here to support you in your decision.

Many people wrongly assume that all religious leaders disapprove of abortion. The truth is that abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures—Jewish or Christian—and there are clergy and people of faith from all denominations who support women making this complex decision. MORE

 (See to the end) Stay in the ‘State of Grace.’ MORE

What is going on? Why on earth is probably the most influential Vatican affairs commentator, Messori, raising this matter now? Why, as Socci implies, does he seem to have made a 180-degree turn on the very important matter of “here we rule one at a time.” We provide no answers, as it often happens we just wish to bring to English-speaking readers what is being written in other languages but is being overlooked by the mainstream media. We report, you decide. MORE

The Turkish government recently cut off the flow of the Euphrates River, threatening primarily Syria but also Iraq with a major water crisis. Al-Akhbar found out that the water level in Lake Assad has dropped by about six meters, leaving millions of Syrians without drinking water. Continue reading →