Death & Dying
More than 200 Christian leaders sign letter calling for cease-fire in Gaza
By Chloë-Arizona Fodor and Jack Jenkins — July 23, 2024
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The letter comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the U.S., where he is expected to address Congress on Wednesday and meet with President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Decades after Billie Holiday’s death, ‘Strange Fruit’ is still a searing testament to injustice – and of faithful solidarity with suffering
By Tracy Fessenden — July 17, 2024
Hundreds died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia amid intense heat, officials say
By Samy Magdy — June 20, 2024
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Longtime Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler, who was accused of sexual abuse, dies at 94
By Associated Press — June 17, 2024
HOUSTON (AP) — Paul Pressler, a leading figure of the Southern Baptist Convention who was accused of sexually abusing boys and young men and later settled a lawsuit over the allegations, has died. He was 94.
The Rev. James Lawson Jr., civil rights leader who preached nonviolent protest, dies at 95
By Travis Loller, Adrian Sainz, and Christopher Weber — June 12, 2024
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Rev. James Lawson Jr., an apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction, has died, his family said Monday. He was 95.
New Jersey bill allowing standalone crematories could benefit Hindu funeral rituals
By Richa Karmarkar — June 10, 2024
(RNS) — Hindu advocates hope the new bill would better fit the spiritual needs of a community that largely cremates its dead.
How 19th-century Spiritualists ‘canceled’ the idea of hell to address social and political concerns
By Lindsay DiCuirci — May 8, 2024
(The Conversation) — Spiritualists believed that after shedding the body in death, the spirit would continue on a celestial journey and help those on Earth create a more just world.
Bulgarians line the streets of the capital to bid farewell to Orthodox Patriarch Neophyte
By Associated Press — March 19, 2024
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The spiritual leader of Bulgaria’s Orthodox Christians died on Wednesday at the age of 78 after a long illness.
As threats to Black cemeteries persist, a movement to preserve their sacred heritage gains strength
By Darren Sands and Giovanna Dell'orto — March 15, 2024
MIAMI (AP) — When sites of sacred cultural memory are desecrated, it adds additional trauma to the indignity of being segregated even in death, said the executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
Animal chaplains offer spiritual care for every species
By Kathryn Post — March 8, 2024
(RNS) — 'This is beyond animal blessings and pet funerals,' said animal chaplain Sarah Bowen.
Tep Vong, the leader of Cambodia’s Buddhist community, dies at 93
By Associated Press — February 27, 2024
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Ministry of Cult and Religion said Tep Vong died Monday after an extended illness.
Sharon Brous on the power of saying ‘amen’ in a broken world
By Yonat Shimron — January 11, 2024
(RNS) — 'The Amen Effect' is an extended meditation on the importance of showing up — in good times and bad.
Lawsuit: Priest says first gas execution in US poses threat to religious liberty
By Kathryn Post — December 14, 2023
(RNS) — The Rev. Jeff Hood, spiritual adviser to Kenneth Smith, argued the restrictions imposed during the execution would violate Hood’s right to the free exercise of religion.
The pope says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica, not in the Vatican
By Nicole Winfield — December 13, 2023
ROME (AP) — Francis has already said if he retires, he would want to live outside the Vatican somewhere in Rome in a residence for retired priests.
Pilgrims yearn to visit isolated peninsula where Catholic saints cared for Hawaii’s leprosy patients
By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher — December 1, 2023
KALAUPAPA, Hawaii (AP) — The pilgrimage to Kalaupapa, defined by its natural isolation in northern Molokai, is logistically challenging and restricted under normal circumstances.
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