NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Deathrow-Chaplain: Florida death row chaplain awarded Guardian of Life Award from Pontifical academy
(RNS) – In recognition of his decades of work with inmates on death row, Catholic lay chaplain Dale Recinella was awarded the first-ever Guardian of Life Award during the Pontifical Academy of Life’s general assembly held earlier this week. By Jessica Mundie. 446 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-SBC-Crisis: Southern Baptist seminary heads join chorus of critics as leaders balk on abuse probe
(RNS) — Pressure is building on members of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to allow a third-party firm full access to investigate how it has handled allegations of sexual abuse over the past 20 years. This week, all six Southern Baptist seminaries expressed their dismay at the Executive Committee’s unwillingness to act. By Yonat Shimron and Bob Smietana. 1,000 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Schools-Denominations: On day of remembrance, churches investigate their role in boarding schools for Indigenous children
CHICAGO (RNS) — Several U.S. mainline denominations — including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church — encouraged their members to observe a day of remembrance for U.S. Indian boarding schools on Sept. 30. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,600 words. (category: a)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Study-Restrictions: Study: Social hostility to religion declines, but government restrictions rise
(RNS) — A global analysis of government restrictions and social hostilities toward religion finds that social hostilities declined in 2019 over the year before. But the new analysis from the Pew Research Center also found that the number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions rose slightly — to 29% of the 198 countries in the study, up from 28% in 2018. By Yonat Shimron. 350 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Rural-Chaplains: Rural chaplains support communities facing hate groups, isolation and labor shortages
(RNS) — Today, rural communities are facing an onslaught of pandemic-era challenges caused by labor shortages, ecological crises and changes in supply and demand. Rural chaplains are providing these communities with spiritual and practical support that ranges from leading anti-racism workshops to helping an ewe give birth. By Kathryn Post. 900 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Gilkes-Oped: Will the Black church continue to sing ‘I Believe I Can Fly’?
(RNS) — The horrific behavior of R. Kelly, and the popularity of “I Believe I Can Fly” (long after his crimes were suspected), is now part of the history of the Black church and its music. But the rich, deep tradition of lyricism gives us many texts to draw upon to praise God and transcend trauma without making racist and sexist predators rich with royalties they do not deserve. By Cheryl Townsend Gilkes. 1,000 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Meek-Oped: The SBC’s Ronnie Floyd fails his Ezra moment on sexual abuse
(RNS) — Instead of strong-arming the Judeans into repentance, Ezra fasted, prayed and waited for the people to respond. His tack produced nearly unanimous repentance. Floyd’s prayer and fasting, on the other hand, has convinced him to do the opposite and prevent the Southern Baptists from repenting, despite their devout wish to do so. By Russell L. Meek. 647 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Salkin-Oped: How VP Kamala Harris blew it
(RNS) — Vice President Harris did not only err in not challenging a student’s interpretation of the Middle East. She made a larger intellectual error — engaging in an intellectual relativism in which my opinion becomes my truth. By Jeffrey Salkin. 761 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Riess-Oped: Outgrowing your religion
(RNS) — Do you have “spiritual claustrophobia,” meaning the religion you belong to has begun to feel too small? North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz has been there. His new book “If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk” is for people who’ve longed for something more than the pocket-sized God and conditional love many churches seem to offer. By Jana Riess. 926 words. (category: k)
