World
Indian protesters pull from poetic tradition to resist Modi’s Hindu nationalism
By Krupa Shandilya — April 16, 2024
(The Conversation) — Thanks to a strong oral Urdu literary tradition in South Asia, poems from the past linger in the popular imagination.
A London court rules against a Muslim girl who wanted to pray at a school known for strict rules
By Associated Press — April 16, 2024
LONDON (AP) — The fight was over a rule put in place last year by the Michaela Community School after a small group of students who began praying in the schoolyard caused divisions at the school that spread to the community and led to a bomb threat.
Tensions rise in Australia after a bishop and priest are wounded in a knife attack in a church
By Rod Mcguirk and Mark Baker — April 16, 2024
SYDNEY (AP) —Video of the attack spread quickly on social media and an angry mob converged on the church demanding vengeance.
Solar New Year celebrations unite religious groups across the South Asian diaspora
By Richa Karmarkar — April 15, 2024
(RNS) — This week, people of all South Asian backgrounds celebrated the Hindu Solar New Year in their unique, regional ways. But common threads between the holidays, many say, have the power to unite those living in the diaspora.
Pope Francis sides with Peruvian villagers who accused Catholic group of trying to steal their land
By Gabriela Molina — April 15, 2024
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — On Saturday, Francis urged the Catacaos villagers to persist in their efforts to defend the land, where they raise cattle and produce honey.
Unfazed by danger and power, Guatemalan cardinal keeps up fight for migrants and the poor
By Giovanna Dell'orto — April 15, 2024
HUEHUETENANGO, Guatemala (AP) — Elevated by Pope Francis to the top hierarchy of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini has continued his unflinching focus on the poor, the Indigenous and the migrant.
As a landmark United Methodist gathering approaches, African churches weigh their future.
By Peter Smith — April 15, 2024
(AP) — Today, members from four continents vote at legislative gatherings, serve on boards together, go on mission trips to each others’ countries and are largely governed by the same rules.
Vatican complains after French court rules in favor of nun dismissed from religious order
By Nicole Winfield — April 15, 2024
ROME (AP) — The case is highly unusual, because it represented a secular civilian court essentially determining that the Vatican’s in-house canonical procedures grossly violated the nun’s fundamental rights.
In Northern Ireland, a long-awaited gurdwara opens with a wedding
By Trisha Mukherjee — April 12, 2024
LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland (RNS) — Derry’s growing population of Sikhs have been meeting in living rooms and kitchens since a fire destroyed one of only two gurdwaras in the country.
A bus carrying pilgrims crashes in southwest Pakistan, killing 17 people and injuring 16
By Associated Press — April 12, 2024
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) —The driver lost control of the bus in Las Bela district, just 25 kilometers from the shrine the pilgrims were heading to.
Argentine court blames Iran and Hezbollah for deadly 1994 Jewish center bombing
By DÉbora Rey and Isabel Debre — April 12, 2024
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) —The court said the attack came in retaliation for Argentina reneging on a nuclear cooperation deal with Tehran.
Chaldean patriarch returns to Baghdad after nine months of self-imposed exile amid political dispute
By Abby Sewell and Ali Jabar — April 12, 2024
BAGHDAD (AP) —Cardinal Louis Sako was welcomed warmly by a church packed with members of the country’s Christian minority as he led his first mass in Baghdad on Friday after returning the day before.
The worship of Shiva, Hinduism’s ‘inconceivable’ deity, finds a home in the tech sector
By Richa Karmarkar — April 11, 2024
(RNS) — Often cast as the most transcendent sect of Hinduism, Shaivism’s appeal to scientific-minded Hindus is becoming more visible.
Bollywood is playing a large supporting role in India’s elections
By Preminda Jacob — April 11, 2024
(The Conversation) — Ahead of elections in India, a series of films that promote the ruling party’s right-wing ideology are seeking to influence voters. An art historian explains how the trend started.
Morocco’s earthquake killed thousands. But survivors marking Ramadan say it didn’t shake their faith
By Sam Metz — April 11, 2024
AMIZMIZ, Morocco (AP) — On Wednesday, as Eid al-Fitr began, the holiday mood for many Moroccans vacillated between festiveness and despair.
