VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A record-breaking 50 million people in 2019 were internally displaced, or refugees within their own country, according to a recent study. Pope Francis and the Vatican championed their cause on Tuesday (May 5), with new guidelines for Catholic dioceses and parishes.

“In this time of pandemic, the virus does not seem to distinguish between those who are important and those who are invisible, those who are settled and those who are displaced. Everyone is vulnerable and each infection is a danger for everyone,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, undersecretary of the migrants and refugees section of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, during an online news conference on Tuesday.

“In the post COVID-19 world that is emerging, the contribution of internally displaced people — like everyone’s contribution — will be very much needed,” he added.

Pope Francis created the migrants and refugees section to spearhead initiatives for the millions who are forced to leave their homes due to war, natural disasters and climate change. To further prove his commitment, Francis chose to preside over the section himself.

The news conference was held to release a new volume called “Pastoral Orientations on Internally Displaced People.” Inspired by Francis’ call to “welcome, protect, promote and integrate” all those who live “in the…

The U.S. Supreme Court held its first religious liberty case on Wednesday to determine if a Christian organization must provide contraception under the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.

The case, entitled Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, involves the Little Sisters of the Poor, an international religious organization that has been active since 1839.

“They are an order of Catholic nuns who serve the elderly poor and dying – truly the most vulnerable among us, especially in the midst of this pandemic,” said senior counsel Diana Verm from the Becket religious rights legal group which is helping to defend them.

The Catholic News Agency reports that the Little Sisters, who have been in a seven-year-long legal battle over the contraceptive mandate, were victorious over the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 and were issued a religious exemption from the mandate by the Trump administration in 2017.

The exemption, however, was challenged in court by State attorneys general for Pennsylvania and California.

Last July, The Little Sisters lost their cases against Pennsylvania at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and last October against California at the Ninth Circuit Court.

As such, the group appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed in January to hear their case.

The May 6 case was initially scheduled for April 29, but it was postponed by the court…

On Tuesday, World War II veteran Rev. Fred Lunsford prayed for a spiritual awakening in an online prayer meeting with more than 250,000 people.

Lunsford, who has pastored for 70 years in North Carolina, fell ill two years ago and prayed that  God would take him home, but God had other plans for the war hero, CBN News reports.

“Two years ago, I thought I was going to die at the age of 93,” Lunsford said. “I was very sick and asked the Lord to let me die. I wanted to go to heaven, but God said, ‘Not yet!'”

Lunsford challenged God asking him, “Why are you leaving me here?” 

God answered Lunsford by requesting he “pray for a spiritual awakening!”

Since then, a faithful servant of Christ, Lunsford has done just that. In his personal prayer garden nestled in the mountains of Marble, N.C., Lunsford has steadfastly prayed for a revival.

“[God] extended my years for a reason, and He wanted me to pray for spiritual awakening and to get as many people praying as I could,” Lunsford told CBN News. “God spoke into my heart, and I yielded to it. It’s not me; it’s the Lord,” he asserted.

In January, Lunsford invited Mud Creek Baptist Church pastor Rev. Greg Mathis to pray for a revival with him.

Mathis described the prayer experience as powerful, noting that he had “felt God in a way that I hadn’t experienced in a long time.”

“Heaven came down and the area in which we were praying…

One of television’s best-known game shows will air a special next week benefitting the country’s largest abortion provider. 

The Price Is Right at Night, a primetime spinoff of the popular daytime series, will feature model and actor RuPaul playing alongside other contestants. Although the contestants will be trying to win prizes, RuPaul’s winnings will benefit Planned Parenthood, according to a news release.

The special, hosted by Drew Carey, will air May 11 on CBS. It was recorded prior to the pandemic.

Planned Parenthood’s annual report for 2018-19 showed its clinics performed more abortions (345,672) than any other organization in the U.S. It was a record for Planned Parenthood. 

RuPaul is the executive producer and host of VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race and is the “most commercially successful drag queen of all time,” the press release from CBS said. 

It isn’t the first time The Price Is Right at Night has benefited other organizations. Seth Rogan appeared on The Price Is Right at Night last December and earned money for his charity, Hilarity for Charity, which raises awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. Another episode featured cast members from the series SEAL Team playing for the charity Headstrong Project, which provides mental health treatment for post-9/11 veterans. 

News of The Price Is Right-Planned Parenthood tie sparked plenty of pushback…

Miami Dolphins’ rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa unveiled his new number Tuesday, and he says it has a connection to his Christian faith.

The former University of Alabama quarterback will wear No. 1 for the Dolphins, who finished 5-11 in 2019 and drafted Tagovailoa fifth overall in the first round last month.

“For the Audience of 1,” Tagovailoa wrote on his social media accounts alongside an emoji of praying hands. He also posted a picture of himself in his new jersey, with eyeblack crosses emblazoned on each cheek.

For the Audience of 1🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/kZYXaYVD1R

— Tua. T 🇦🇸 (@Tua) May 6, 2020

“Audience of One” is a popular phrase used by Christian athletes.

“The intent of the phrase is to help Christian players remember that everywhere in life – even in a stadium full of people – ‘we live and move and have our being in Him,’ and it’s His pleasure we should pursue above all else,” Athletes in Action’s Ed Uszynski wrote on the ministry’s website.

In week 13 of the 2016 NFL season, several Christian players for the Philadelphia Eagles wore customized cleats with the Audience of One acronym, “AO1,” on one side of the shoe and “Romans 5:8” on the other. They also recorded a video explaining the meaning behind Audience of One.

“What does AO1 mean to us?” they explained in the video, rotating lines. “It means that we are…

A biblical scholar says the coronavirus pandemic is “very serious foreshadowing” of the End Times.

Mark Hitchcock, who has written more than 30 books on biblical End Times prophecies, says Scripture tells of plagues in the End Times, The Christian Post reports.

He pointed to Luke 2:11, Revelation 6:8 and the prophecy of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

“In fact, Scripture tells us these plagues will kill 25% of the people in the world. It’s literally going to be biblical proportions,” he said.

Hitchcock told The Christian Post that he doesn’t believe COVID-19 is one of the plagues referred to in the Bible, but it is a “preview of what’s coming.”

“It’s a wake-up call for people to come to Christ in light of what’s coming in the future, which is going to be far worse,” he said. “It’s a very serious foreshadowing of what’s to come.

“I think it reveals the globalism of today. One person in China got this sometime in the fall and now it’s in some 190 countries. It’s also a picture of how small our world is today and how things are set up for the world ruler, the Antichrist, who is coming. I see just a lot of foreshadows and previews in the coronavirus, but I don’t see this as a fulfillment of a specific prophecy.”

He also emphasized that there is no way to know when Jesus will return.

“But I do think it should create within us a sense of urgency…

Ohio Representative Nino Vitale says he refuses to wear a face mask because “we are all created in the image and likeness of God.”

“This is not the entire world,” Vitale wrote in a Monday Facebook post. “This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”

Vitale posted the statement on Facebook after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine strongly encouraged people to wear masks in public. He did not mandate the wearing of masks, Relevant Magazine reports.

“It became clear to me that that was just a bridge too far,” DeWine said. “People were not going to accept the government telling them what to do.”

Ohio Department of Health Dr. Amy Acton also advised wearing masks in public to help stop the spread of COVID-19. She said it could be a year before it is safe to go in public without masks, according to News Week.

“Don your mask,” she said. “Don your cape.”

Vitale, however, said he didn’t want to cover people’s faces. He also said it is time the state reopens.

“This is not based on logic,” he said. “This is based on fear and propaganda and every statistical, data-driven study done in the last 2 weeks says death counts are low, the models were wrong and…

Religious gatherings are now allowed in Kansas City, Missouri as long as churches maintain social distancing guidelines.

The city’s website outlines a new 10/10/10 rule in which “in-person religious gatherings (including weddings and funerals) may resume, subject to the 10/10/10 rule (if held inside), or limited to 50 people outside, provided social distancing precautions are followed.”

“The 10/10/10 rule specifies that these businesses must limit the number of individuals on-site (inclusive of employees and customers) to no more than 10 percent of building occupancy or 10 people (whichever is larger),” the city’s website adds.

While it is not mandatory, churches and businesses that are re-opening are also encouraged to record the names of customers or attendees in order to help the Kansas City Health Department “more quickly trace, test, and isolate individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19 if an employee or customer had the virus at the time they frequented the business.”

The city’s website asserts that “all data will remain confidential and will be used only to address public health concerns and contact individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19.”

Failure to comply with any of the required provisions will be considered to be a violation of the City’s Code of Ordinances and can be met with “fines, orders to suspend business operations, and…