NEWS STORY
RNS-Brazil-Evangelicals: Brazil’s evangelicals, bound to Bolsonaro, fight to follow his lead on pandemic
(RNS) — Like Donald Trump in the United States, Bolsonaro initially dismissed COVID-19 as a “little flu” and no reason to shut the country down, apparently hoping to keep the economy from failing. And like Trump, the Brazilian president has made evangelical Christian support a centerpiece of his political strategy. As the pandemic grew more dire through the spring, pastors have had a powerful influence on health policy. By Raphael Tsavkko Garcia. 980 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Communion-Catholics: For many lay Catholics, Communion shouldn’t be denied — even if you support abortion rights
(RNS) — As debate continues to unwind over whether to deny Communion to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, these efforts not only appear to clash with the pope himself, who has insisted the sacrament is “not a prize for the perfect,” but are arguably out of step with the views of most U.S. Catholics like Lily Nguyen-Ellis, a pro-life Catholic, who doesn’t believe elected leaders should be reprimanded for being pro-choice. By Alejandra Molina. 1,300 words. (category: a)
NEW STORY
RNS-Baptists-Lindsay: Why grievance studies hoaxer and atheist James Lindsay wants to save Southern Baptists
(RNS) — The work of atheist author and grievance study hoaxer James Lindsay has become a key driver in the controversy over critical race theory in the Southern Baptist Convention. Lindsay claims any discussion of racism or sexism is a Trojan Horse, disguising the arrival of “wokeness” in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. By Bob Smietana. 1,100 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Akyol-Book: Mustafa Akyol argues for Islamic reform from within
(RNS) — Turkish American academic Mustafa Akyol argues in a provocative new book that Sunni Islamic theology must be reformed from within. Akyol who is a fellow of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. and a New York Time’s columnist takes aim at apostasy laws in particular. Akyol was arrested in 2017 in Malaysia when he himself ran afoul of Malaysia’s apostasy laws. By Joseph Hammond. 900 words (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Claiborne-Oped: The death penalty’s last gasp?
(RNS) — On Wednesday (May 19), Quintin Jones is scheduled to be executed in Texas. It is the first state execution of 2021, and the first time a state has executed anyone in nine months. But state executions are not something most Americans want to see “return to normal” after the pandemic. Many of us would like to see the nine-month halt on state executions be “the new normal.” For the first time in my 45-year life, a majority of Americans are done with the death penalty. By Shane Claiborne. 1,235 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Camosy-Oped: Alien life looks more and more likely. Catholics are ready.
(RNS) — Bring it on, director of national intelligence and Pentagon. Let’s see what you got. The Catholic intellectual tradition stands ready to help humanity interpret and process the fact that we are not alone in the universe. By Charles Camosy. 777 words. (category: k)