Court dismisses Louisiana pastor’s virus restrictions suit
By Kevin Mcgill — January 13, 2022
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana pastor’s lawsuit over Gov. John Bel Edwards’ past COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings was rejected for a second time Wednesday by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson in Baton Rouge said the lawsuit by Tony Spell seeking an order blocking the restrictions is moot because the restrictions […]
New Mexico church official urges nuclear disarmament talks
By Susan Montoya Bryan — January 12, 2022
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The head of one of the oldest Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States says now is the time to rejuvenate and sustain a global conversation about the need for nuclear disarmament and how to develop ways to avoid a new nuclear arms race. Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester released a […]
Noem to push abortion ban after 6 weeks, conservative vision
By Stephen Groves — January 12, 2022
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Tuesday (Jan. 11) said she would push legislation to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, as she laid out a sharply conservative list of priorities to start the state’s legislative session. During the final State of the State address of her first term, the […]
Kin of dead sex abuse victim sue under new California law
By Brian Melley — January 12, 2022
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After decades of dealing with the boyhood trauma of being molested by a priest, Jim Bartko sued the Roman Catholic church two years ago. But the lawsuit was dismissed when he died four days after speaking publicly about it. A new law has now revived his case, allowing his estate to […]
Top Indian court intervenes in hate speeches against Muslims
By Ashok Sharma — January 12, 2022
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Wednesday said it will take up a petition seeking prosecution of several saffron-robed Hindu religious leaders for allegedly making highly provocative speeches against Muslims at a closed-door meeting last month. Three Supreme Court judges said they were issuing a notice to the Uttarakhand state government that they […]
Women are finding new ways to influence male-led faiths
By Thalia Plata and Emily Costello — January 11, 2022
(The Conversation) — Three female academics discuss how women are forging new pathways in faith leadership throughout religions that traditionally have been patriarchal.
Head of Serbian Orthodox Church tests positive for virus
By Associated Press — January 11, 2022
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The 60-year-old patriarch became the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church after the previous patriarch, Irinej, died in November 2020 after contracting the coronavirus.
Polish official fired after calling Holocaust law ‘stupid’
By Associated Press — January 10, 2022
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish diplomat charged with improving contacts with Jews worldwide has been fired after he criticized his own government’s approach to regulating Holocaust speech, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. Jaroslaw Nowak, the plenipotentiary for contacts with the Jewish diaspora described a Holocaust speech law passed by his country’s ruling party as […]
Israel’s national library sees Arabic site traffic boom
By Ilan Ben Zion — January 10, 2022
(AP) — The Jerusalem library is home to an extensive collection of Islamic and Arabic texts, including thousands of rare books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Turkish ranging from the 9th to the 20th centuries.
Orthodox observe Christmas amid virus concerns
By Jim Heintz — January 7, 2022
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Orthodox Church, the largest Orthodox congregation, said celebrants must wear masks and observe social distancing at services.
Ransom freed some missionary hostages in Haiti, workers say
By Peter Smith — January 6, 2022
An unidentified person paid a ransom that freed three missionaries kidnapped by a gang in Haiti under an agreement that was supposed to have led to the release of all 15 remaining captives early last month, workers for their Ohio-based organization have confirmed. The person who made the payment was not affiliated with Ohio-based Christian […]
BSA bankruptcy plan misses mark in vote by abuse claimants
By Randall Chase — January 5, 2022
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A preliminary voting report in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy indicates the group’s reorganization plan has failed to win the desired support from tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children. The report, filed late Tuesday night, shows 73% of 53,888 valid ballots were cast […]
