International
Mexican church officials have helped arrange a truce between 2 warring drug cartels
By Fabiola SÁnchez — February 26, 2024
MEXICO CITY (AP) —This is the latest in a series of attempts by bishops and priests to get cartels to talk to each other in hopes of reducing bloody turf battles.
Two daughters ran away to join Islamic State. Years later, their family’s story is an Oscar nominee
By Mariam Fam — February 26, 2024
(AP) — The real-life story of Hamrouni and her children is the focus of “Four Daughters,” an Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature film.
A call for Christian leaders to denounce the Russian Orthodox Church
By Mark Silk — February 22, 2024
(RNS) — Calling out leaders who seem to consider it bad ecumenical manners to tell the Russian patriarch he’s wrong.
As a rabbi, philosopher and physician, Maimonides wrestled with religion and reason – the book he wrote to reconcile them, ‘Guide to the Perplexed,’ has sparked debate ever since
By Randy L. Friedman — February 20, 2024
(The Conversation) — Faith and reason are often treated as opposites. But some philosophers believe they can only strengthen each other, including the Jewish sage Maimonides, who wrote the famous ‘Guide to the Perplexed.’
Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques – here’s why this matters
By Brian Van Wyck — February 16, 2024
(The Conversation) — The Turkish government started sending imams to Germany in the 1980s, but under a new agreement, imams will be trained in Germany instead.
Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?
By Dasha Litvinova and Peter Smith — February 16, 2024
Roughly 200 million Eastern Orthodox live primarily in Eastern Europe and neighboring Asian lands, with about half that total in Russia, while smaller numbers live across the world.
Pope and Argentine President Milei embrace after pontiff canonizes Argentina’s first female saint
By Nicole Winfield, Gianfranco Stara, and Alessandra Tarantino — February 12, 2024
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Mama Antula was an 18th century laywoman who ministered to the poor and helped keep Jesuit spirituality alive in Argentina after the religious order — to which the pope belongs — was suppressed.
What is Lunar New Year and how is it celebrated?
By Deepa Bharath — February 8, 2024
Lunar New Year begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon
It’s the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac − associated with good fortune, wisdom and success
By Mario Poceski — February 8, 2024
(The Conversation) — According to the Chinese zodiac signs, each year in the lunar cycle is associated with a particular animal. The cycle repeats every 12 years.
The divine matchmaker in Chinese mythology − Old Man Under the Moon − who helps couples find love
By Megan Bryson — February 8, 2024
(The Conversation) — Young people in China are no longer settling into marriages arranged by their parents. But they are still looking for blessings from Chinese gods to find everlasting love.
Divine intervention? Ivorians say God is on their team’s side after ‘miracles’ at Africa Cup
By CiarÁn Fahey — February 8, 2024
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — At the Chapelle de l’externat Saint Paul for a service hours before the match, many worshippers wore the national team's distinctive orange jersey.
Sikh Americans, citing ‘transnational repression,’ vote for an independent homeland
By Richa Karmarkar — February 1, 2024
(RNS) — More and more Sikh Americans are fearful about an ‘alarming rise’ in transnational repression, according to several Sikh advocacy organizations.
Auschwitz survivor decries rise of the far right and increased antisemitism in Germany
By Associated Press — January 31, 2024
BERLIN (AP) — Germany saw a significant increase in anti-Jewish incidents following the attack on Israel.
Pope names 3 Chinese bishops in a week and reorganizes diocese under a controversial 2018 accord
By Associated Press — January 31, 2024
ROME (AP) — The Vatican said all nominations took place “within the framework” of the 2018 Vatican-China accord.
When is criticism of Israel antisemitic? A scholar of modern Jewish history explains
By Joshua Shanes — January 31, 2024
(The Conversation) — In recent years, the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism has taken on renewed importance and competing definitions of antisemitism have emerged. What is antisemitism?
