DAVID CRARY

News director, global religion team

Crary is news director of The Associated Press’ global religion team. He’s also been a foreign correspondent for AP in Africa, France, Bosnia and Canada, and a U.S.-based national writer specializing in social issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights.

FILE - Attendees pray during a "rosary rally" on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, in Norwood, Ohio. On Nov. 7, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion. It was the seventh consecutive state where voters decided to protect abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

US Catholic leadership foresees challenges after repeated election defeats for abortion opponents

Repeatedly in recent years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stipulated that the threat of abortion remains its preeminent priority.

The Buddhist temple of Watt Munisotaram is seen on snow-covered farmland in Hampton, Minn., on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. Started by Cambodian refugees who had fled the Khmer Rouge's killing fields four decades ago, it's evolved into a 40-acre complex whose community is seeking to strengthen ties with younger generations. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto)

Somber, joyful, magical: Some of the most compelling AP religion photos of 2023

In the searing heat of Mecca, throngs of Muslims from around the world converged for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

FILE - A representative of Dignity USA, a group of LGBTQ+ Catholics, wears pins on the lanyard of his pilgrim credential, outside the Sao Vicente de Paulo Parish Social Center, after Pope Francis visited it, in the Serafina neighbourhood of Lisbon, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)

Step by step, Francis has made the Catholic Church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ people

The Catholic Church, in its doctrine, still rejects same-sex marriage and condemns any sexual relations between gay or lesbian partners as “intrinsically disordered.”

FILE - Newly couples of weds meet with Pope Francis during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on Oct. 11, 2023. Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document released Monday Dec. 18, 2023 explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Pope approves blessings for same-sex couples that must not resemble marriage

The Vatican issued a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

FIle- Palestinian supporters gather for a protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. As the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza, there's a bitter battle for public opinion flaring in the U.S., with angry rallies and disruptive protests at prominent venues in several major cities. Among the catalysts are Palestinian and Jewish-led groups that have been active for years in opposing Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. Now many groups involved in those earlier efforts are playing a key role protesting the latest fighting, with actions on campuses and beyond. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

Longtime Israeli policy foes are leading US protests against Israel’s action in Gaza. Who are they?

As the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza, there’s a bitter battle for public opinion flaring in the U.S., with angry rallies on many college campuses and disruptive protests at prominent venues in several major cities.

Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Vatican steps closer to allowing transgender people to be baptized as Catholics

In the United States, the national conference of Catholic bishops rejects the concept of gender transition, leaving many transgender Catholics feeling excluded.

FILE - Brian Harrington, right, and Chuck Beauchine pray with other mourners during the funeral of Matthew Shepard at St. Mark's Episcopal Church Friday, Oct. 16, 1998, in Casper, Wyo. Shepard, an openly gay University of Wyoming student, died Monday from a beating in Laramie, Wyoming that's widely considered to have been at least in part motivated by his sexual orientation. (AP Photo/Michael S. Green, File)

25 years after Matthew Shepard’s death, LGBTQ+ activists say equal-rights progress is at risk

Twenty-five years have passed since gay 21-year-old college student Matthew Shepard died after being beaten and tied to a remote fence.

FILE - Archbishop Timothy Broglio conducts an Easter Sunday Mass in an empty sanctuary at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Sunday, April 12, 2020. For the October 2023 synod at the Vatican, the U.S. delegation consists of members widely viewed as ideological rivals. There are six clerics appointed by Pope Francis who support his aspirations for a more inclusive, welcoming church. And there are five clerics chosen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, including its president, Broglio, who reflect a more conservative outlook. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Ideological rifts among U.S. bishops are in the spotlight ahead of momentous Vatican meeting

Early next month, the Vatican will open an unprecedented gathering of Catholic clergy and laypeople from around the world.

FILE - Orthodox Jewish men pass New York City police guarding a Brooklyn synagogue on Dec. 11, 2019, prior to a funeral for Mosche Deutsch, a rabbinical student from Brooklyn who was killed in a shooting at a Jersey City, N.J., market. Ahead of the High Holidays, encompassing Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, that begin this week, a network of Jewish security experts and religious leaders hosted several webinars to help prepare for the season. Over recent years, in the face of increased antisemitic threats and violence, the season also is a time of heightened vigilance. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Ahead of High Holidays, US Jewish leaders stress need for security vigilance as antisemitism surges

Ahead of the High Holidays that begin this week, a network of Jewish security experts and religious leaders in the U.S. hosted several webinars to help prepare for the season.

FILE - The Rev. Martin Luther King, center, speaks with the media at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference convention in Savannah, Ga., on Sept. 29, 1964. The March on Washington of 1963 was the product of sustained activism by broad coalition. The Black Church was not monolithic then nor now. (Savannah Morning News via AP, File)

From MLK to today, the March on Washington highlights the evolution of activism by Black churches

The March on Washington of 1963 is remembered most for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Members of the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy practice before the Parliament of World Religion Parade of Faiths, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

A throng of interfaith leaders to focus on combating authoritarianism at global gathering in Chicago

Thousands of people representing scores of religions and belief systems are expected to convene in Chicago for a weeklong event.

FILE - Pastor Robert Jeffress and President Donald Trump pray after Trump signed a full pardon for Alice Johnson in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 28, 2020, in Washington. Jeffress, pastor of an evangelical megachurch in Dallas, has been a staunch supporter of Trump since his first campaign for president. “Conservative Christians continue to overwhelmingly support Donald Trump because of his biblical policies, not his personal piety,” Jeffress told The Associated Press via email. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Some critics see Trump’s behavior as un-Christian. His conservative Christian backers see a hero

For eight years, Donald Trump has managed to secure the support of many evangelical and conservative Christians despite behavior that has often seemed at odds with teachings espoused by Christ in the Gospels.

People march outside Dodger Stadium after a prayer service Friday, June 16, 2023, in Los Angeles. Devout baseball fans might view their teams' performance as heavenly or hellish, depending on the quality of play. Currently, it is the Los Angeles Dodgers' handling of their annual Pride Night — not the team's record — that has provoked emotional reactions from religious people, including prominent faith leaders, Catholic nuns, and even the team's All-Star ace. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A nun commends Dodgers’ handling of Pride Night controversy. Some archbishops call it blasphemy

The Los Angeles Dodgers, over the decades, have endured fans’ diatribes along with their cheers. This week, perhaps for the first time, they were accused of blasphemy.

A statue of St. Anthony holding the infant Jesus is reflected in a wall in St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Friday, May 26, 2023, in Detroit. In the year since the Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion, America's religious leaders and denominations have responded in strikingly diverse ways. The divisions are epitomized in the country's largest denomination – the Catholic Church. National polls repeatedly show that a majority of U.S. Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most case, yet the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops supports sweeping bans on the procedure. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

America’s religious leaders sharply divided over abortion, a year after Roe v Wade’s reversal

In the year since the Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion, America’s religious leaders and denominations have responded in strikingly diverse ways.

In this photo provided by Dirk Bolle, the Rev. Pat Langlois, senior pastor of MCC Church of Christ of the Valley, speaks at an interfaith rally in Pasadena, Calif., on March 31, 2023, protesting the wave of anti-transgender bills being enacted in numerous Republican-governed states. “These bills are the most vitriolic and cruel legislation I’ve seen,” she said. “I have a non-binary teenager, so I take this really personally, not just as a person of faith and as a lesbian, but as a mom.” Langlois, whose LGBTQ activism spans several decades, described the current situation as “probably the scariest time” because of the array of hostile bills. (Dirk Bolle via AP)

Wave of anti-transgender bills in Republican-led states divides US faith leaders

As Republican-governed states across the nation advance numerous bills targeting transgender young people, America’s faith leaders are starkly divided in their assessment.

FILE - An sign stands near an entrance to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, in Bethesda, Md. The management of the medical center has drawn criticism from a prominent archbishop - and some members of Congress - by choosing not to renew a contract for Franciscan priests to provide pastoral care, and by hiring a hiring a secular defense contractor, Mack Global LLC, to oversee provision of those services going forward. Walter Reed said it notified the Franciscans in March 2023 that their contract would not be renewed. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Military hospital chided for shift in Catholic pastoral care

The management of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has drawn criticism from a prominent archbishop -- and some members of Congress.

Rabbi Joshua Franklin stands inside the sanctuary at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton, New York on Feb. 10, 2023. Franklin expermented writing a sermon for his congregation using artificial intelligence software Chat GPT, and concluded that AI can't replace the work of human faith leaders. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)

Pastors’ view: Sermons written by ChatGPT will have no soul

Among sermon writers, there is fascination – and unease – over the fast-expanding abilities of artificial-intelligence chatbots.

FILE - Anti-abortion activists march outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the March for Life in Washington, Jan. 21, 2022. Anti-abortion activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate – and some reasons for unease -- when they gather Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 in Washington for the annual March for Life. The march has been held since January 1974 – a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

US divided over Roe’s repeal as abortion foes gird for march

Anti-abortion activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the annual March for Life.

FILE - Bishops watch Pope Benedict XVI on a large video monitor during a rally with young people and seminarians at Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., Saturday, April 19, 2008. Many of the conservative prelates who dominate the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were appointed by Benedict. Even after his death in December 2022, Catholic academics and clergy say his absence is unlikely to weaken the conservatives' collective power or end the culture wars that have divided the USCCB. (AP Photo/File)

US bishops’ rifts unlikely to ease after Benedict’s death

Many of the conservative prelates who dominate the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were appointed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

FILE - Pope Benedict XVI greets people in the crowd as he celebrates a Mass at Yankee Stadium, in New York on Sunday, April 20, 2008. In the the United States, admirers of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remembered him warmly for his theological prowess and devotion to traditional doctrine. However, some U.S. Catholics, on learning of his death Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022, recalled him as an obstacle to progress in combating clergy sex abuse and expanding the role of women in the church.(AP Photo/Chang W. Lee, Pool, File)

In US, sharply contrasting views on Benedict XVI’s legacy

In the United States, admirers of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI are remembering him warmly for his theological prowess and devotion to traditional doctrine.

Senior Rabbi Seth Adelson sits for a portrait in his office at Congregation Beth Shalom in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Jewish Americans confront antisemitism with resolve, worry

Across the United States, many Jewish Americans are closely following the recent high-profile surge in antisemitic rhetoric and actions.

Friction over LGBTQ issues worsens in global Anglican church

Friction has long-simmered within the global Anglican Communion over its 42 provinces’ sharp differences on whether to recognize same-sex marriage and ordain LGBTQ clergy.

FILE - Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, front row, centre right poses for a photo with bishops from around the world at the University of Kent, during the 15th Lambeth Conference, in Canterbury, England, Friday, July 29, 2022. Friction has been simmering within the global Anglican Communion for many years over its 42 provinces’ sharp differences on whether to recognize same-sex marriage and ordain LGBTQ clergy. In 2022, the divisions have widened, as conservative bishops – notably from Africa and Asia – affirmed their opposition to LGBTQ inclusion and demanded “repentance” by the more liberal provinces with inclusive policies. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP, File)

Friction over LGBTQ issues worsens in global Anglican church

Friction has been simmering within the global Anglican Communion for many years over its 42 provinces’ sharp differences on whether to recognize same-sex marriage and ordain LGBTQ clergy.

Shinta Ratri, founder of Al Fatah Islamic school for transgender women, speaks during an interview in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. The school whose students are transgender women is a rare oasis of LGBTQ acceptance – not only in Indonesia, but across the far-flung Muslim world. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Across vast Muslim world, LGBTQ people remain marginalized

Here and there, across the far-flung Muslim and Arab world, LGBTQ people see glimmers of progress — but those are rare exceptions.

FILE - Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, speaks during a news conference, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 in New York. In November 2022, Dolan, chairman of the Catholic bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, dismissed a bill pending in the Senate that would protect same sex and interracial marriages in federal law, as failing even the “meager goal” of preserving the status quo in balancing religious freedom with the right to same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Faith groups split over bill to protect same-sex marriage

Among faith leaders and denominations across the U.S., there are sharp differences over the bill advancing in the Senate that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law.

FILE - Archbishop Timothy Broglio conducts an Easter Sunday Mass at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Broglio of the Military Services, who oversees Catholic ministries to the U.S. armed forces, was elected Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, as the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US Catholic bishops elect Timothy Broglio as new president

Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Services, who oversees Catholic ministries to the U.S. armed forces, has been elected as the new president of the U.S.

FILE - In this Friday, May 1, 2020 file photo, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez gives a blessing after leading a brief liturgy at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The nation's Catholic bishops begin their fall annual meeting Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, where they plan to elect new leaders — a vote that may signal whether they want to be more closely aligned with Pope Francis' agenda or maintain a more formal distance. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, Pool)

US bishops to elect new leaders, mark abuse reform milestone

U.S. Catholic bishops plan to elect new leaders as they gather in Baltimore this week. The vote on Tuesday may signal whether the bishops want to be more closely aligned with Pope Francis’ agenda or maintain a more formal distance.

Midterms reinforce Christian voter trends on abortion, GOP

Evangelical Christians across the U.S. reconfirmed their allegiance to conservative candidates and causes in the midterm elections.

Rev. Alyn Waller of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church looks on after rallying fellow bikers for a "Black Bikers Vote" procession, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

As midterms near, clergy preach politics and civics lessons

U.S. faith leaders have squeezed in some final messages about the midterm elections during their weekend worship services.

FILE - Gubernatorial candidates Massachusetts Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, foreground, and Massachusetts Republican Geoff Diehl respond to questions during their televised debate, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, at NBC10 television studios, in Needham, Mass. Healey is favored to become the first openly gay candidate elected as the state's governor. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)

Amid wave of opposition, some LGBTQ candidates eye epic wins

The home stretch of the midterm election campaign is a good news, bad news phenomenon for LGBTQ activists.