The biggest religion news story, for SpokaneFAVS or anywhere, is the election of Pope Francis in March.
The election of a pope is always big news, but this one quickly became even bigger than it ordinarily would be. Both his manner of life and his implicit emphasis on faith over doctrine are giving tens of millions of Catholics and non-Catholics alike hope for a fresh start in Roman Catholicism. Christian history is full of “roads not taken.” Some of those pathways would surely have been better for all. Now with Pope Francis it looks like we have a chance to get back onto one of those neglected paths; it just might be that the long retreat from the insights of Vatican II might be over.
Whether you are Roman Catholic or not, whether you even like that idea or not, Francis is such a departure from the immediate past that his elevation to the papacy makes his election the biggest religion story in years.