EDS: Please note RNS will be closed and not transmitting any stories on Monday, January 18, 2021 in observance of the MLK holiday.
NEWS STORY
RNS-Ramsey-Culture: Is Dave Ramsey’s empire the ‘best place to work in America’? Say no and you’re out
(RNS) – For years, Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey has claimed his company is the best place to work in America. COVID-19 and Ramsey’s demands for unquestioning loyalty put that claim to the test. By Bob Smietana. 4500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-MLK-Roundup: Martin Luther King Jr. faith events continue in time of COVID-19 and Capitol chaos
(RNS) — Commemorations of the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. look different this year, with few in-person opportunities to preach, pray and volunteer amid the coronavirus pandemic. By Adelle M. Banks and Alejandra Molina. 900 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Outgoing-Chaplain: Outgoing House chaplain says the job is to ‘be a counterpoint to the dominant spirit of this place’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Before the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, a lawyer and Jesuit priest, stepped down as chaplain to the House of Representatives at the beginning of this year, he sat down for an exclusive interview to talk about his friendships with members of Congress, the attempt by then-Speaker Paul Ryan to remove him in 2018 and how he has seen the legislature change during his tenure. By Jack Jenkins. 2,100 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Spiritual Planning: 2021 might be unpredictable, but don’t ditch your datebook. Planning can be a spiritual exercise
(RNS) — The beginning of another pandemic year largely locked down at home, the future still uncertain, may be the perfect time to flip the page in a new planner. It’s more than just jotting down to-dos and appointments. For many, it’s a spiritual exercise. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,213 words. (category: a)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Virtual-March: Annual March for Life goes virtual following amid COVID-19, unrest at US Capitol
(RNS) — The March for Life is going virtual this year. The move online comes as the COVID-19 pandemic “may be peaking” and amid the “heightened pressures that law enforcement officers and others are currently facing in and around the Capitol,” according to a statement posted Friday (Jan. 15) on the March for Life website — two weeks before the event was set to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 400 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Pell-Transparency: Cardinal Pell calls for more laity involvement in Vatican financial reform efforts
(RNS)- Cardinal George Pell, former Secretary for the Economy, addressed the current financial reform enacted by Pope Francis during an online conference on Thursday, praising recent efforts while calling for more lay involvement. By Claire Giangravè. 900 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Three-Mothers: Moms of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin revealed in new book
(RNS) Author Anna Malaika Tubbs has revealed little-known details about the mothers of three prominent leaders for civil rights and Black liberation in the new book “The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation.” By Adelle M. Banks. 1,300 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-JoanneRogers-Obit: Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92
(RNS) — Joanne Rogers, the widow of the star of the children’s program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” has died at the age of 92. By Adelle M. Banks. 300 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Singh-Oped: Biden’s transition team wanted to talk about religious freedom. Here’s what I told them.
(RNS) — The answers have as much to do with racial justice as religious freedom, as the two are inextricably linked. We can’t understand American racism without attending to the ways in which religion has been used to prop up white supremacy. By Simran Jeet Singh. 815 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Shafran-Oped: Twitter’s ‘cancelation’ of free speech isn’t a legal question, it’s a moral one
(RNS) — Even in the context of contemporary mores, freedom of speech simply isn’t an absolute. Nowhere is this more deeply held than in Judaism’s teaching. The Talmud, the repository of the Jewish tradition’s wisdom and laws, recognizes the power of speech, as what sets humankind above the animal kingdom, and thus has powerful potential for both good and the opposite. Generally speaking, the operative Jewish principle is that, in the Talmud’s words, “evil speech kills.” By Avi Shafran. 525 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Fitzsimmons-Oped: Advancing religious freedom abroad starts at home
(RNS) — On Religious Freedom Day, we rejoice that the Trump administration and the harm it has done to religious freedom is ending. We believe the Biden administration will chart a better course on religious freedom by ensuring the U.S. government respects it domestically, restoring our credibility in calling for religious freedom globally. By Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons and Maggie Siddiqi. 791 words. (category: k)