News
Advocating for Haitians, faith groups pressure Biden to end Trump-era measure
By Jack Jenkins — September 28, 2021
(RNS) — The faith leaders are targeting a Trump-era measure known as Title 42 that has allowed for mass deportation.
Kirk Franklin rereleases ‘Lean on Me’ with virtual global children’s choir
By Adelle M. Banks — September 28, 2021
(RNS) — ‘You have hundreds of kids that are living in marginalized situations,' Franklin said, 'that this song is giving them an opportunity to have a voice.’
Canada’s First Nations await ‘concrete actions’ as bishops apologize for boarding schools
By John Longhurst — September 28, 2021
(RNS) — Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said that, while she welcomed the bishops' Sept. 24 apology, she will wait to see if the bishops' promises will be kept.
Amid pandemic and personal struggles, Max Lucado finds peace in divine purpose
By Emily McFarlan Miller — September 28, 2021
(RNS) — The biblical book of Esther has helped the pastor and bestselling author through his own bout with a breakthrough case of COVID-19 and his recent diagnosis with a serious health condition, called an ascending aortic aneurysm.
Amid global vaccine inequality, Vatican weighs ethics of booster shots
By Claire Giangravé — September 28, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — While it remains unclear whether Pope Francis will receive a booster dose of the vaccine, Vatican experts weigh the ethics involved in global vaccine distribution.
Pope recognizes errors as Mexico celebrates independence
By Mark Stevenson — September 28, 2021
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pope Francis sent a message to Mexico bishops marking the occasion, saying it 'necessarily includes a process of purifying memory, that is, to recognize the very painful errors committed in the past.'
This Simchat Torah, one ancient Czech scroll has returned to its country of origin
By Yonat Shimron — September 27, 2021
(RNS) — Jewish life was nearly extinguished by the Nazis. But because of a historical quirk, Czech Jewish liturgical objects, such as Torah scrolls, survived. Now, one such scroll has made it back.
Cardinal Raymond Burke says his recovery slow after COVID-19
By Todd Richmond — September 27, 2021
As he recuperates, he has urged the public to pray for his recovery, the world and the church.
Russia declares groups linked to Church of Scientology as ‘undesirable’
By Alejandra Molina — September 27, 2021
(RNS) — The Prosecutor General’s Office on Friday (Sept. 24) said the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises International and the Church of Spiritual Technology "pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation.”
Canadian Catholic bishops apologize for residential schools
By Associated Press — September 27, 2021
The Catholic bishops in Canada are promising to provide documents that may help “memorialize” students buried in unmarked graves, work on getting the Pope to visit Canada, and raise money to help fund initiatives recommended by local Indigenous partners.
Led by ‘Father Revolutionary,’ Indigenous Guatemalans turn to Orthodox Christianity
By David I. Klein — September 27, 2021
(RNS) — Spurred by the conversion of a beloved former Catholic priest, Orthodox Christian communities have popped up in some 120 villages across northern Guatemala and southern Mexico.
San Marino legalizes abortion; Pope, women’s groups disagree
By Francesco Fedeli and Nicole Winfield — September 27, 2021
SAN MARINO (AP) — Pope Francis repeated Monday that abortion is “murder,” a day after the tiny republic of San Marino became the latest Catholic state to legalize the procedure, much to the cheers of women’s rights groups. An overwhelming majority — 77% of the 14,384 votes cast Sunday in the microstate surrounded by Italy […]
The Sunday Assembly hopes to organize a godless future. It’s not easy.
By Bob Smietana — September 24, 2021
(RNS) — At its peak, there were about 70 congregations in the Sunday Assembly movement. About half have shut down or gone dormant.
Local Indigenous groups worry Bears Ears Monument will limit access to ritual space
By Joseph Hammond — September 24, 2021
(RNS) — The initial push for the monument was supported by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, but the two closest chapters of the Navajo Nation resisted the plans. At stake are two different visions of how to best protect sacred land.
How Hindu chaplains went from anomaly to necessity
By Kathryn Post — September 24, 2021
(RNS) — In 2008, Princeton University's full-time Hindu chaplain was not just the only one at any place of higher learning at the time; he was the first in the United States ever to fill the role.
