Next week, Chicago will host the Interfaith Leadership Summit. For 23 years, the event has brought together students and educators from across the country to promote religious pluralism.

Israeli police on Sunday entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the flashpoint holy site, fueling clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded, according to Palestinian medical workers.

This week, three major religious holidays are coinciding for the first time in over 30 years: Ramadan, Easter and Passover. And many people are choosing to observe their holiday traditions in person for the first time in two years. 

For many places of worship, it’s business as usual. But some churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship have been offering virtual or outdoor services, and will be doing so for holiday events. 

This time last year, many people celebrated the holidays virtually, as the COVID-19 vaccine was not yet widely available. But this year, the faithful can plan some in-person gatherings to celebrate the holidays.

A one-on-one discussion with Julie Rodgers, the first openly gay chaplain at Wheaton College who is featured in the Netflix documentary, “Pray Away.” She’s also the author of the new book “Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story.”

The Supreme Court has already issued big decisions on health care and religious freedom this month. And next term, the high court has agreed to take on cases about abortion and guns. The court could say as soon as Monday what it will do about these issues awaiting action.

Next month, a wave of Chicago-area Catholic church consolidations will take place, merging parishes as part of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s “Renew My Church” initiative. Among them will be five churches in and around Bronzeville.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, cleared by an Archdiocese of Chicago investigation into claims that he sexually abused several boys decades ago, returned to the pulpit of his longtime church on Sunday for the first time in five months. 

Cardinal Blase Cupich reinstated the Rev. Michael Pfleger as senior pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church after an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor more than 40 years ago “concluded that there is insufficient reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations.”

Islamic leaders are using social media, virtual town halls and face-to-face discussions to spread the word that it’s acceptable to be vaccinated for the coronavirus during daily fasting that happens during Ramadan, the most sacred month of the year for Muslims.

The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings.

For the second year in a row, Chicago’s Jewish and Christian communities are preparing to celebrate Passover and Easter amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, that means coming together with friends and loved ones over Zoom. For others, it will be a mix of online worship and in-person celebration.

After the first allegations surfaced in January, the Archdiocese of Chicago temporarily removed Michael Pfleger to investigate, leading to fierce backlash from parishioners trying to clear his name. They’ve flooded the archdiocese’s phone lines and staged rallies. They’ve also challenged the accusers’ accounts.

The 59-year-old man alleges in an affidavit shared late Tuesday with church officials that the Rev. Michael Pfleger once grabbed his crotch over his clothes in the priest’s bedroom area at St. Sabina Church in the summer of 1979 as the then 18-year-old accuser pretended to sleep.

Hospitals don’t just offer health care. Many offer care for the human spirit as well as the human body. We talk with a chaplain at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park about the challenges of ministering to patients and families during a pandemic.