NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Elder-Destiny: California recall candidate Larry Elder to visit megachurch offering COVID-19 vaccine exemptions
(RNS) — California recall contender Larry Elder, who has vowed to repeal mask and vaccine mandates, is visiting Destiny Christian Church near Sacramento on Sunday to talk about “the role of the church” with pastor Greg Fairrington, who in recent days had offered religious vaccine exemptions for people who attended Sunday service. By Alejandra Molina. 415 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Synod-Synodality: Pope Francis is preparing a radical reform of the church’s power structures
RNS – The Synod on synodality, which Pope Francis will inaugurate Oct. 9-10, has the potential to revolutionize the way things are done in the Catholic Church while also challenging today’s increasingly centralized world. By Claire Giangravè. 1,300 words. (category i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-LMU-Jewish: This rabbinical school is moving into a Catholic university
(RNS) – In an arrangement that is both novel and pathbreaking, the Academy for Jewish Religion-California will move to Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic school formed by the Jesuit and Marymount orders. The move is not merely envisioned as a rental contract for three offices and four classrooms, though a three-year lease has been signed. The idea is to allow for some joint classes as well as other collaborations. By Yonat Shimron. 800 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Horwitz-Oped: Texas’ abortion ban is against my religion. As a rabbi, I will defy it if necessary.
(RNS) — Judaism teaches that potential life is sacred. Nevertheless, our religion also teaches that potential life is not the same as actual life, that a fetus is not a human being. Therefore, even during labor, the pregnant woman’s life has precedence over the life of the fetus. And if we have reason to believe a pregnancy will be a serious threat to the woman’s well-being, then she will be counseled to abort the fetus, and to do so in a way that maximally protects her own health. By Danny Horwitz. 600 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Giess-Oped: Harvard’s ‘atheist chaplain’ is no contradiction. It’s a chance to grow as a nation.
(RNS) — Seeing the elevation of an atheist or agnostic at Harvard as one more skirmish in our nation’s ongoing culture wars misunderstands the significance of this historic moment — and misses an opportunity to live up to the promise of American pluralism. By Mary Ellen Giess. 820 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Hirschfield-Oped: Which world do you want to repair?
(RNS) — With Rosh Hashana commencing this Monday evening (Sept. 6), and Yom Kippur following 10 days later, the global Jewish community finds itself in the heart of two seasons — giving season and receiving season. I want to address how any of us — regardless of religious tradition or time of year — thinks about what difference we want to make in our world. By Brad Hirschfield. 959 words. (category: k)