NEWS STORY
RNS-Congolese-Cardinal: Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Congolese cleric and statesman, dies at 81
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, an influential figure in Congo’s Roman Catholic Church, died Sunday (July 11) in Versailles, France, where had been undergoing medical treatment. The 81-year-old prelate, the former archbishop of Kinshasa, is remembered in the central African country as both a church leader and a statesman who fought fearlessly for human rights, and helped guide the nation through a turbulent political transition. By Fredrick Nzwili. 582 words. (category: i)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-UCC-Racism: UCC declares racism a public health crisis
(RNS) — The United Church of Christ kicked off its Special Edition General Synod Sunday (July 11) by passing a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis.. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-TikTok-Misinterpretations: Three of the most mistranslated words in scripture — according to TikTokers
(RNS) — On TikTok, the Hashtag #Deconstruction has 49 million views. #BibleMisconceptions has 45 thousand views. And #BibleTranslations has roughly a half million. Explaining the nitty gritty details of Ancient Greek and Hebrew in Christian scriptures may not seem like viral content, but on TikTok, it’s algorithm fire. By Renée Roden. 600 words. (category: a)
NEWS-STORY
RNS-Arizona-Chaplain: Controversy over congressional candidates status as chaplain
(RNS) — The chaplain credentials of a Trumpian Republican congressional candidate in Arizona have drawn national attention. Lt. Alex Stovall, 24, is running for congress in Arizona’s 9th district and if elected would be the youngest African American to serve as a congressmen. Last month the U.S. Army Reserve Command launched an investigation of the 24-year old according to a report from Stars and Stripes to see if his campaign had violated DoD regulations related to how military personnel can present themselves during campaigns for public office. By Joseph Hammond. 500 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Salkin-Oped: Loneliness stinks. Come back to your story.
(RNS) — What is the cure for loneliness? It is not only that we spend time with each other — which the current abating of the pandemic is, slowly, making possible. It is that we spend time within each other — and within something that is larger than us. What is that “thing” that is larger than us? A narrative. A story. By Jeffrey Salkin. 925 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Shafran-Oped: Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’ is an exposé that fails to explain some basic facts
(RNS) — The show, which debuted this week, presents a once-observant Orthodox Jewish woman, Julia Haart, who bravely stood up for her disbeliefs, left her life in an “ultra-Orthodox” community in upstate New York to become a happy and successful CEO of a modeling agency. Fashion triumphs over fundamentalism. What could be more inspiring? Well, actually, plenty. Take, for instance, the joyful religious Jewish lives being lived, and cherished, by hundreds of thousands of us who deeply value what the protagonist of “My Unorthodox Life” dismisses as Jewish “fundamentalism.” By Avi Shafran. 696 words (category: k)