News
Black seminary grads, with debt higher than others, cope with money and ministry
By Adelle M. Banks — February 17, 2022
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Data shows 30% of Black graduates in the 2020-2021 academic year had debt of $40,000 or more, compared with 11% of white graduates.
ACNA moves forward with investigation amid concerns from survivors and advocates
By Kathryn Post — February 17, 2022
(RNS) — The news comes weeks after three members of the ACNA group overseeing the sexual abuse investigation resigned.
Craving connection, 2,500 Jewish teens meet in Baltimore for in-person convention
By Yonat Shimron — February 17, 2022
(RNS) — BBYO’s annual International Convention kicked off a five-day gathering on Thursday (Feb. 17), the first large in-person gathering in the American Jewish community since the pandemic started.
In reforming the priesthood, Pope Francis insists on middle ground
By Claire Giangravé — February 17, 2022
(RNS) — Pope Francis dismissed progressive views favoring ‘the ideology of the moment’ and the conservative ‘rigidity’ that clings to the past, encouraging a third way.
New Netflix docuseries ‘jeen-yuhs’ chronicles Kanye West’s belief in God and himself
By Emily McFarlan Miller — February 16, 2022
CHICAGO (RNS) — The docuseries is a reminder West’s complicated relationship with Christianity reaches back further than ‘Jesus Is King’ and his recent elaborate Sunday Service events.
In Oaxaca, Indigenous farmers mourn Catholic activist who championed their rights and rituals
By Magdalena Rojo — February 16, 2022
(RNS) — Carmen Santiago Alonso showed that ‘an Indigenous church and the church with a feminine spirit is possible,’ said a Catholic priest at her funeral.
Amid debate, women lift their voices with Muslim sacred text
By Mariam Fam and Aysha Khan — February 16, 2022
CAIRO (AP/RNS) — Attitudes vary toward women publicly reciting the Quran within earshot of nonrelated men — in person, online or in other media.
Tennessee preacher Greg Locke says demons told him names of witches in his church
By Bob Smietana — February 15, 2022
(RNS) — Controversial Tennessee preacher Greg Locke has turned from claims of election fraud to conversations with demons.
A 300-year-old church hopes to connect with spiritual but not religious neighbors
By Bob Smietana — February 15, 2022
(RNS) — Facing a future where organized religion is on the decline, Trinity Episcopal Church hopes to offer spiritual community for the nones.
GiveSendGo back online after hack targeting Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests
By Jack Jenkins — February 15, 2022
(RNS) — The Canadian protesters have begun staging ‘Jericho Marches’ similar to those conducted in the lead-up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Munich report on sex abuse heightens Catholic Church divide over sexuality
By Claire Giangravé — February 15, 2022
(RNS) — Benedict XVI’s supporters believe attacks on the emeritus pope’s handling of sexual abuse while archbishop of Munich are aimed at reinforcing progressive views on sexuality and priestly celibacy.
Racial unity: Merged Southern congregation sets an example
By Aron Ranen — February 15, 2022
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — 'A part of our purpose is be a demonstration of unity, a demonstration of racial reconciliation in a nation that has been so divided for way too long.'
Unvaccinated medical workers turn to religious exemptions
By Heather Hollingsworth — February 15, 2022
(AP) — Religious exemptions are increasingly becoming a workaround for unvaccinated hospital and nursing home workers who want to keep their jobs in the face of federal mandates.
Enrollment in US Catholic schools rebounds after sharp drop
By Luis Andres Henao — February 15, 2022
(AP) — This is the first increase in two decades and the largest jump in at least five decades.
In two years, this mainline denomination has paid off $100 million in medical debt
By Emily McFarlan Miller — February 14, 2022
(RNS) — The United Church of Christ announced Monday (Feb. 14) that it used $200,000 from one of its annual Giving Tuesday campaigns to purchase and pay off $33 million in medical debt for residents of Ohio, where the mainline Protestant denomination is based.
