News
Questions on immigration, Communion loom over Pope’s trip to Hungary and Slovakia
By Claire Giangravé — September 10, 2021
(RNS) — The Vatican doesn’t want the upcoming papal trip to Hungary and Slovakia to be about politics, but hot-button issues linger over Francis’ trip to the heart of Europe.
‘The story is still unfolding’: 10 Americans on how 9/11 changed their faith lives
By Yonat Shimron and Kathryn Post — September 10, 2021
(RNS) — The Sept. 11 attacks changed many Americans’ faith communities and spiritual lives as much as it did how we see our world and one another.
The painting behind Taliban fighters in Kabul presidential palace is worth a thousand words
By Menachem Wecker — September 9, 2021
(RNS) — The scene depicted in the enormous painting represents something of a mixed symbolic bag for the Taliban foot soldiers posed before it.
Religious organizations prepare for ‘potential onslaught’ of evictions
By Kathryn Post — September 9, 2021
(RNS) — ‘We’re very, very nervous,’ said Sarah Abramson of Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston. Millions of Americans say they could face eviction as the federal eviction moratorium ends.
9/11 became a catalyst for interfaith relations and cooperation
By Adelle M. Banks — September 9, 2021
(RNS) — Though anti-Muslim sentiments grew in the wake of 9/11, another legacy of that historic day is the evolution and advancement of interfaith cooperation in the United States.
Greek Orthodox Church at ground zero still unfinished, 20 years later
By Karen Matthews and Peter Smith — September 9, 2021
NEW YORK (AP) — Slated for completion next year, the church is surrounded by a small public park and features a Byzantine-style dome and marble cladding that can be lit from within.
Afghanistan’s last Jew leaves after Taliban takeover
By Joseph Krauss and Muhammad Farooq — September 9, 2021
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Zebulon Simentov joined an exodus of tens of thousands of Afghans who have fled since the Taliban swept across the country last month
Texas man gets execution delay over pastor’s touch request
By Juan A. Lozano and Michael Graczyk — September 9, 2021
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — John Henry Ramirez won a reprieve Wednesday evening from execution after claiming the state was violating his religious freedom by not letting his pastor lay hands on him at the time of his lethal injection.
Twenty years later, ‘In Christ Alone’ still inspires millions to sing
By Bob Smietana — September 9, 2021
(RNS) — The popular hymn prompted a movement to revive congregational singing and launched the careers of Keith and Kristyn Getty.
An American Jew turned Hindu holy woman tells her story
By Yonat Shimron — September 9, 2021
(RNS) — Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati quit her Ph.D. program, divorced her husband, moved to India and became a Hindu renunciate. In her new memoir she reveals a past life of sex abuse and bulimia.
Conference fuels growing US debate over Hindu nationalism
By Joseph Hammond — September 8, 2021
(RNS) — Critics of the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference say it is an exercise in Hinduphobia.
Louisiana Catholics pitch in as cleanup from Hurricane Ida continues
By Bob Smietana — September 8, 2021
(RNS) — In the wake of Hurricane Ida, many Catholic parishes in New Orleans are dealing with damaged churches while reaching out to help their neighbors.
Pope Francis names new bishop in Wuhan
By Claire Giangravé — September 8, 2021
(RNS) — Francesco Cui Qingqi was ordained under a 2018 provisional agreement between the Vatican and China that allows Rome and Beijing to have a role in selecting the country’s bishops.
San Diego lawsuit claims California’s ethnic studies curriculum promotes Aztec gods
By Alejandra Molina — September 7, 2021
(RNS) — ‘The fact that the Aztec religion is not formally organized and is non-Western in its origin does not excuse the constitutional violations,’ said attorney Robert E. Weisenburger.
Safe in the US, Afghan evacuees turn their attention to the families they left behind
By Emily McFarlan Miller — September 7, 2021
(RNS) — Faith-based refugee resettlement agencies are helping people like Mustafa and their families to settle into their new homes in the US and advocating for those left behind.