The Associated Press

Pope Francis on April 13 sided with a group of Peruvian villagers who have complained that companies linked to a powerful South American church group have tried to evict them from their land using lawsuits and obscure land titling schemes.

Lithium is key in the global fight against climate change. But to extract it, mines suck water out of the region's water, tethered to the lives of thousands of Indigenous communities in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. 

A religious procession in downtown Barcelona celebrated the appearance of long-awaited rain, after nine days of praying for relief from a severe drought.

Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. 

Mawphlang is one of more than 125 sacred forests in Meghalaya. These forests are ancient, virgin woodlands that have been protected by Indigenous communities for many centuries. Today, climate change, pollution and deforestation threaten these spaces. They have also been affected by the Indigenous population's conversion to Christianity.

Sacred forests and groves are primeval woodlands that different faith communities around the world have safeguarded for centuries as abodes of the spiritual or the divine.

One of the last remaining salt patches in Hawaii has been under constant threat due to development, pollution from a neighboring airfield, sand erosion from vehicle traffic and littering by visitors to the adjacent beach. In addition, climate change threatens to obliterate the cultural and spiritual practice of salt making, with rising sea levels and modified weather patterns.

Rather than pursue its claims in court that the federal government failed to engage in meaningful consultation regarding the lithium mine at Thacker Pass, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony will focus on organizing a broad coalition to build public support for sacred places.

Mauna Kea is a dormant 14,000-foot shield volcano. In Native Hawaiian lore, it is the first-born son of the sky father and earth mother. The mountain's dry atmosphere and limited light pollution make for a perfect location to study the skies — one of just a handful on the planet.

The long-term survival of Lebanon's cedar forests is in doubt, as rising temperatures due to climate change threaten to wipe out biodiversity and scar one of the country's most iconic heritage sites for its Christians.

The Vatican signed an agreement Wednesday with German carmaker Volkswagen AG to gradually replace its auto fleet with electric vehicles as part of the Vatican's efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.

In the cradle of Voodoo, the forests were places of hope. Yet as the woodlands shrank, due to economic development and other factors, it has dealt a blow to communities struggling to protect the spirits believed to live within them.

Pope Francis will discuss how to address the world's pressing issues with former President Bill Clinton to open this year's Clinton Global Initiative. Francis will discuss broad issues — including climate change, the refugee crisis, the welfare of children — during an onstage videoconference with Clinton.

Alex Wakitinti is worried about the sacred natural sites he tends in the large swath of bushy grassland near Lake Albert. It's the same slice of his homeland that oil companies are developing in order for Uganda to become an oil producer by 2026.

At a Sunday Mass at a church in Kapalua, Hawaii, the Most Rev. Clarence "Larry" Silva, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu, appealed to somber parishioners not to abandon their faith. "If we are angry with God we should tell him so. He can take it," he said in his sermon, adding later that "God loves us in tragedies and good times and bad times."

Pope Francis challenged young people on Thursday to make the world a more just and inclusive place, as he focused the second day of his Portugal trip on inspiring students to use their privilege to combat global warming and economic inequalities.

Under the tall prairie grass outside this southwestern Minnesota town lies a precious seam of dark red pipestone that, for thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried and carved into pipes essential to prayer and communication with the Creator. Only a dozen Dakota carvers remain.

Pope Francis gave in July 15 to China’s unilateral appointment of a new bishop in Shanghai, formally recognizing Beijing’s installation of Bishop Shen Bin three months after the fact.

Competing interests have ignited a tug of war between the town of about 3,000 people who want a huge copper mine built there for its economic benefits, and Native American groups that consider the land sacred and are fighting to protect it from disturbance.