Austin police adds patrols to Jewish centers following Colleyville hostage situation

Saturdays are normally a day of rest for the Jewish community, but, this past Saturday, the world watched as several people were taken hostage at a synagogue in Colleyville.

Texas synagogue hostage-taker identified by FBI as British national

The FBI has identified the man killed after taking four people hostage inside a North Texas synagogue Saturday as 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram.

Texas synagogue hostage situation sparks reaction from public officials

Public officials around the globe reacted after news broke of a man reportedly holding four people hostage inside a North Texas synagogue.

Who is Aafia Siddiqui? Closer look at the Pakistani woman jailed in Texas

Aafia Siddiqui is serving an 86-year prison sentence after being convicted in Manhattan in 2010 on charges that she sought to shoot U.S. military officers while being detained in Afghanistan two years earlier.

Texas synagogue hostage situation has US cities on high alert

From New York to Los Angeles, officers are beefing up security at synagogues after a man took hostages Saturday during services in Texas.

Houston-area leaders standing by as hostage situation in Colleyville unfolds

As an intense situation in Colleyville, Texas unfolds where at least four people were taken hostage at a synagogue, Houston-area leaders are holding steady, offering thoughts and prayers.

Pope Francis baptizes 16 babies in Sistine Chapel after pandemic break

Pope Francis baptized 16 babies in the Sistine Chapel Sunday, resuming a decades-old Vatican tradition that had been interrupted last year by the pandemic.

Pope criticizes couples who adopt pets instead of children: 'a form of selfishness'

Pope Francis on Wednesday branded couples who adopt pets instead of children as "selfish" as part of a call to resolve the "demographic winter" that the West faces.

Pope Francis starts new year with call to protect women, focus on the good

Pope Francis has used his New Year's Day appearances to encourage people to focus on the good which unites them and to decry violence against women.

Despite shattered windows, North Austin church holds Sunday service

Almost every stained-glass window at Our Savior Lutheran Church is boarded up or damaged, but that did not keep churchgoers from Sunday service.

Pope Francis prays for pandemic's end in Christmas Day address

Pope Francis' Christmas Day speech gives him an opportunity to draw a global audience's attention to conflicts big and small. This year was no different.

Austin church vandalized hours before Christmas Eve service

Nearly all the stained glass at Our Savior Lutheran Church was bashed in on Friday morning, with damages estimated to be more than $100,000.

Jewish house of worship in San Jose goes up in flames, Torahs spared

The Chabad house, a Jewish place of study and worship, went up in flames this week, but fortunately, the Torahs were spared.

Missionaries freed from captivity in Haiti last week made daring overnight escape to elude kidnappers

Captive missionaries in Haiti found freedom last week by making a daring overnight escape, eluding their kidnappers and walking for miles over difficult, moonlit terrain with an infant and other children in tow, according to the agency they work for, officials said Monday.

Pope Francis celebrates 85th birthday as reform hits stride

Pope Francis turns 85 on Dec. 17, a milestone as he continues efforts to make the Catholic Church more attuned to the laity.

Haiti kidnapping: All Christian Aid Ministries hostages freed, police say

The Christian Aid Ministries hostages in Haiti have all been freed, according to the group and police. The group of 17 was kidnapped on Oct. 16.

Pope Francis addresses nun abuse detailed in investigative expose

During an audience with members of the Vatican’s congregation for religious orders, Pope Francis cited a new investigative expose of the problem written by a reporter for the Holy See’s media, Salvatore Cernuzio.