NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Bakker-Biopic: PTL! Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain to star as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in biopic
(RNS) — Tammy Faye Bakker’s story has been told in countless television interviews, as the punchline in “Saturday Night Live” skits and in a number of musicals. Now it’s one step closer to getting the Hollywood treatment. People Magazine has released the first photos of Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain as famed TV evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in the upcoming film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” By Emily McFarlan Miller. 520 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Moore-Letter: Leaked Russell Moore letter blasts SBC conservatives, sheds light on his resignation
(RNS) — For years, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, was considered the denomination’s most outspoken “Never Trumper.” When he departed for a job at Christianity Today magazine, it was considered a victory for pro-Trump SBC forces. But in a letter written more than a year before his resignation, Moore explained his troubles with the SBC’s leadership in bitterly frank terms, and Donald Trump hardly made an appearance. By Paul O’Donnell and Bob Smietana. 1,479 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Moore-Church: Russell Moore parts from Southern Baptist professionally and personally
(RNS) — Russell Moore, who recently resigned as the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethicist, has also made a personal separation from the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. T.J. Tims, lead pastor of Immanuel Nashville in Tennessee, announced Tuesday (June 1) on social media that Moore is now the church’s minister in residence. By Adelle M. Banks. 400 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Science-Text: White House science adviser to be sworn in on a 500-year-old Jewish text
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Eric Lander is sworn in on Wednesday as the new director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, it will be on a sacred Jewish book. But not just any text: the journey of the 500-year-old printing of a well-known Jewish chapter involved a flight from Span in 1492, a frantic night of research, and help from the Library of Congress. By Jack Jenkins. 1185 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Mosque-Survey: Number of mosques in US grows while number of African-American mosques declines
(RNS) — Increasing numbers of African-American mosques are closing while the overall number of mosques in the United States continues to increase according to a new report. The author of the report, Ihsan Bagby, produced similar survey reports in 2001 and 2010 on the American mosque. By Joseph Hammond. 650 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Joshi-Oped: For Indian American Hindus, loving India doesn’t mean holding back our criticism
(RNS) — As India suffers through a devastating surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths, the Indian diaspora is experiencing a swirl of conflicting emotions. Our relief in North America, where widespread vaccinations have likely put the worst of the pandemic behind us, is shadowed by the fear we hear from our loved ones on video calls and WhatsApp. We also hear the rage many feel toward India’s political leaders for their deadly decisions. By Khyati Y. Joshi. 1,148 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Reese-Oped: Vatican curia, semper reformanda
(RNS) — Attempts to reform the curia have been going on since the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s, each announced with great fanfare, but the effects were only incremental. There is no reason to expect anything better this time. By Thomas Reeses. 1,060 words. (category: k)