NEWS STORY
RNS-Pope-Budapest: In Hungary, the conservative heart of Europe, Pope Francis urges to “build bridges”
(RNS) – In Hungary, where politicians have sought to create walls to preserve the country’s identity amid the migration crisis in Europe, Pope Francis advocates for building bridges with neighbors of other religions and backgrounds. By Claire Giangravè. 850 words. (category i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Spong-Obit: Bishop John Shelby Spong, firebrand who championed LGBTQ inclusion, has died
(RNS) — Bishop John Shelby Spong, whose two decades at the head of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark was filled with controversy, died Sunday at 90. Spong was a vocal advocate for gay clergy and women pastors — and his views have largely become mainstream in several Protestant denominations. His views on theology, which included updating the faith to reject core Christian teaching like the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the existence of heaven and hell, proved popular, making him a bestselling author. But they did not attract throngs to churches. By Bob Smietana. 1,100 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Lisante-911: For New York celebrity priest, 9/11 closure will come with tolerance for ‘every path to God’
(RNS) — More than 30 members of Monsignor Jim Lisante’s parish were killed in the towers. He recalls the churches being filled with people praying, and Sunday services were overflowing. “People were overwhelmed, you know? These weren’t combatants. These were people who went to work and then died.” Lisante hopes the lesson of September 11th faith communities learn is skepticism of extremism and fundamentalism in all religious persuasions. By Renée Roden. 1,000 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Riess-Oped: Blocklisting at Brigham Young University
(RNS) — I think we all hoped the “strange period” of blocklisting at BYU would indeed be of short duration and would “resolve itself soon.” But given recent news about historian Benjamin Park’s erasure from BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute, it seems the strangeness is alive and well. By Jana Riess. 990 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Silk-Oped: How Harvard’s atheist chaplain-in-chief fits into the school’s long religious tradition
(RNS) — Atheists and agnostics constitute nearly 40% of Harvard’s freshman class this year — twice the size of its next largest group (Catholics). By the numbers alone, the chaplain who ministers to them is entitled to a leadership position. By Mark Silk. 660 words. (category: k)
