News
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.
Mexico’s Supreme Court rules that abortion is not a crime
By MarÍa Verza — September 7, 2021
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday (Sept. 7) that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion, unanimously annulling several provisions of a law from Coahuila — a state on the Texas border — that had made abortion a criminal act. The decision will immediately affect only the northern border state, but it establishes […]
Pope, patriarch and Canterbury abbot issue climate appeal
By Nicole Winfield — September 7, 2021
ROME (AP) — The world’s top Christian leaders — Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians — on Tuesday issued a joint appeal for delegates at the upcoming U.N. climate summit to “listen to the cry of the Earth” and make sacrifices to save the planet. In their first-ever […]
‘I never thought it would be a campaign’: Muslim artist’s work builds bridges in Pittsburgh
By Kathryn Post — September 7, 2021
PITTSBURGH (RNS) — Ebtehal Badawi’s painting has been used to promote racial and religious unity across the city.
Young Sikhs still struggle with post-Sept. 11 discrimination
By Anita Snow and Noreen Nasir — September 7, 2021
MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Such attacks can be particularly hard on young Sikhs, who face bullying by classmates who try to yank off their turbans or mock them as ‘Osama’s nephew’ or ‘Saddam Hussein.’
Two decades after 9/11, Muslim Americans still fighting bias
By Luis Andres Henao, Mariam Fam, and Deepti Hajela — September 7, 2021
NEW YORK (AP) — As young American Muslims grew up under the shadow of 9/11, they faced hostility and surveillance, mistrust and suspicion, questions about their Muslim faith and doubts over their Americanness.
Greece begins giving COVID-19 vaccines outside churches
By Idyli Tsakiri — September 7, 2021
ARCHANES, Greece (AP) — Greece has begun administering vaccinations for COVID-19 outside churches in a pilot program recently announced by the government as a means of encouraging more people to get the shots.
‘A burden of beauty’: Five religious artisans on finding inspiration in faith
By Renée Roden — September 7, 2021
(RNS) — Forbidden images, illuminated manuscripts and even maps testify to the creativity humans bring to the project of making the transcendent tangible.
Court rules Catholic school wrongfully fired gay substitute
By Associated Press — September 6, 2021
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A gay substitute teacher was wrongfully fired by a Catholic school in North Carolina after announcing in 2014 on social media that he intended to marry his longtime partner, a federal judge has ruled.
Admirers still urging sainthood for chaplain killed on 9/11
By David Crary — September 6, 2021
(AP) — Mychal Judge, a Catholic chaplain with New York’s fire department, left a uniquely complex legacy that continues to evolve 20 years after his death.
Pandemic once again disrupts plans for Jewish High Holy Days
By David Crary and Holly Meyer — September 6, 2021
(AP) — At many synagogues, there will be a mix of in-person services, including indoor and outdoor options, and virtual offerings for people staying home.
