NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) For nearly a century, the stained glass portrait of St. Patrick looked down on parishioners -- as if from the heavens -- from the massive nave of the sacred Heart church in this city's Vailsburg neighborhood.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Vatican-sponsored event in the mother country of the mafia, Sicily, wants to revive the church's role in fighting the cultural roots of organized crime. By Alessandro Speciale.

JERUSALEM (RNS) While Passover cleaning has been around since the Israelites fled from bondage in Egypt, some say the lengths to which many modern Jewish families go to avoid the smallest piece of leavened material has turned the "festival of freedom" into a season of domestic slavery. By Michele Chabin.

(RNS) A umbrella group of Christian denominations dedicated to fighting racism has called on churches to use the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin as a "teachable moment" for them to speak out against stereotyping. By Adelle M. Banks.

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings get sealed in a Mormon proxy wedding, Israeli matzo is pushing down prices in the U.S., and every high schooler's dream in Arkansas comes true.

(RNS) Faith leaders delivered more than 230,000 signatures to the office of Village Voice Media, demanding they shut down the adult advertising section on their website, Backpage.com, where advertisements for sex with underage minors have appeared. By Annalisa Musarra.

(RNS) A plastic surgeon in Miami who's also an Orthodox Jew is in trouble after commissioning an Orthodox Jewish band to do a music video about rhinoplasty called "Jewcan Sam" which has gone viral on YouTube. By Lauren Markoe.

NEW YORK (RNS) The 2012 Templeton Prize, which recognizes "spiritual progress" in the world, was awarded to the Dalai Lama for his long-standing support of the engagement of religion and science. By Chris Herlinger.

WASHINGTON (RNS) Almost a year into her stint as the State Department's point person on religious freedom, the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook has traveled to eight countries and seems to have moved beyond questions about her lack of diplomatic experience.  By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) Before we get swept up in romanticized versions of the tragedy of the Titanic 100 years ago, we need to remember what really happened and recall the biblical words of Proverbs: "Pride goes before destruction." By A. James Rudin.

WASHINGTON (RNS) According to a new Gallup Poll, 59 percent of residents in Mississippi are "very religious," while a nearly identical share of Vermonters are nonreligious. By Annalisa Musarra.

(RNS) For decades, Psalm 139 has been a byword of the anti-abortion movement that has used its line about being "knit together in my mother's womb." Now, its other verse about being "fearfully and wonderfully made" has been embraced by gay and lesbian Christians. By David Van Biema

SEYMOUR, Ind. (RNS) After a court ruled that prayers at a food pantry violate federal guidelines, a food pantry here is faced with a Solomon-like choice: Stop the prayers or give up truckloads of free food provided through the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program. By Tim Evans.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI called for more religious freedom for the Catholic Church on his last day in communist Cuba. Around 300,000 people turned up for a papal Mass in Revolution Square in Havana, just before an unscheduled but much-anticipated meeting with Fidel Castro. By Alessandro Speciale.