NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Feast-Guadalupe: Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration near Chicago, largest in US, canceled due to COVID-19
(RNS) — Known as second only to Mexico City, Chicago-area public celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which falls on Dec. 12, have been cancelled as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the city and across the country. By Alejandra Molina. 375 words.
NEWS STORY
RNS-Biden-Worship: Biden says Americans can worship in person ‘safely.’ But what does that mean?
WASHINGTON (RNS) — President-elect Joe Biden says Americans should be allowed to worship in person “safely” during the ongoing pandemic. But as cases of COVID-19 spike in the U.S. just weeks before major religious holidays, questions abound as to whether attending religious services in person can, in fact, be safe — and if Biden’s approach to the contentious issue will differ from that of the Trump administration. By Jack Jenkins. 1,230 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Pope-Book: In new book, Pope Francis offers useful tips for the United States
(RNS) – Pope Francis’ new book, Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, offers deeper insight into the pope’s reflections on the pandemic and its aftermath at a global level, but with an eye fixed on the United States. By Claire Giangravè. 1,100 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Putnam-QA: Robert Putnam thinks religion could play a role in healing the national morass
(RNS) — In their new book “The Upswing,” Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garret argue the Progressive Era of the early 20th century may provide a roadmap for our polarizing gridlock. That period was led by moral crusaders: religious people such as Walter Rauschenbusch who ushered in the so-called Social Gospel movement. Religious narratives could play a role in an upswing today, too. By Yonat Shimron. 1,700 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Riess-Oped: Thanksgiving has always been about grief. Pass the mashed potatoes.
(RNS) — Thanksgiving has always been a holy-day that is about finding light and goodness in the midst of darkness. It’s a holiday born amid disease and death, advanced amid war and death, and canonized amid poverty and death. Marking both grief and gratitude isn’t antithetical to Thanksgiving; in fact, it’s baked into its very history. By Jana Riess. 951 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Emerson-Oped: Evangelical Christians once were saved. After Trump, they’re lost.
(RNS) — Trump is the price of the white evangelical church’s rejection of the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. and others who demanded we address America’s racism and greed. As president he has forced many white evangelicals into a long overdue reckoning with their culture’s indifference to systemic racism and its unholy alliance with partisan politics. By Michael O. Emerson and Joel Goza. 1,010 words. (category: k)
