News

Black Lives Matter banner outside University Christian Church in San Diego defaced

By Alejandra Molina — January 25, 2021

(RNS) — Senior Minister Caleb Lines said it’s not the vandalism that he finds heartbreaking: ‘It’s that some people truly don’t believe that Black lives matter or that the lives of LGBTQ+ people have value.’

New e-course teaches: Copy cats and achieve purrvana

By Emily McFarlan Miller — January 25, 2021

(RNS) — ‘I’ve gone looking for wisdom, beauty, and truth wherever it can be found. And this past year I‘ve found myself learning most of all from my cats,’ said author Jon M. Sweeney about his new e-course called ‘The Spirituality of Cats.’

A group of Catholic bishops issues statement condemning bullying of LGBTQ youth

By Jack Jenkins — January 25, 2021

(RNS) — The signers also directed part of their comments directly to LGBTQ people, saying, ‘know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.’

Some Black Southern Baptists feel shut out by white leaders

By David Crary — January 25, 2021

(RNS) — The SBC's national meeting in June cold be a crucial moment for Black pastors if delegates rebuff their views on systemic racism in the U.S.

Biden attends Mass at DC church where he worshipped as VP

By Aamer Madhant — January 25, 2021

(RNS) — The nation's second Catholic president picked Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, a few miles from the White House.

Protesters and supporters denounce explosion at anti-LGBTQ First Works Baptist Church

By Alejandra Molina — January 24, 2021

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — ‘We weren’t expecting anything like this,’ an organizer of a group protesting the church’s message said. ‘It’s made it harder on our cause.’

Photos of the Week: Biden inauguration, Buddhist funeral in Nepal

By Kit Doyle — January 22, 2021

(RNS) — This week’s photo selection includes the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, a Buddhist funeral in Nepal and more.

SBC president JD Greear’s church launches inquiry into past actions of Bryan Loritts

By Bob Smietana — January 22, 2021

(RNS) — Questions have been raised about how Loritts handled accusations that his brother-in-law secretly videotaped women in a church bathroom.

Southern Baptist Dwight McKissic to leave Texas group over critical race theory stance

By Adelle M. Banks — January 22, 2021

(RNS) — ‘I’m no longer compatible with them and made the decision that we need to disengage from them,’ the pastor said of Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

Tolkien fans hope to turn his house into a ‘Rivendell’ for writers and filmmakers

By Claire Giangravé — January 22, 2021

(RNS) — Fantasy enthusiasts want to turn the house of the Catholic author in Oxford, England, into a meeting place.

German teens go to Israel to atone for their families’ Holocaust history

By Michele Chabin — January 22, 2021

(RNS) — March of Life, a German movement that actively atones for the Holocaust through volunteerism, fights anti-Semitism through activism.

Vatican convicts ex-bank chief in property embezzlement scam

By Nicole Winfield — January 22, 2021

(RNS) —The scam allegedly involved the suspects selling 29 different properties in Rome and elsewhere to offshore companies that then resold them at market rates, with the suspects pocketing the difference.

Jen Hatmaker apologizes for line in inaugural prayer critiqued as erasing Native Americans

By Emily McFarlan Miller — January 21, 2021

(RNS) — ‘If God gave this land to anyone, it was to the Native community who always lived here,’ Hatmaker said.

5 faith facts about Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Southern Jew with a passion for racial justice

By Yonat Shimron — January 21, 2021

(RNS) — He wrote a letter to the Atlanta Jewish community saying his Jewish upbringing instilled in him ‘a conviction to fight for the marginalized, the persecuted and the dispossessed.’

With new executive order, this immigrant is leaving church sanctuary after 3.5 years