RNS Morning Report: Abuser Banned from Pa. Church; Muslim Inmates Sue Ark. Prisons; Gilead Church

Victims advocate Jimmy Hinton, left, prays with relatives and supporters of victims of Clyde E. Brothers Jr. Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.

Need to know: Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Church elders let confessed abuser attend services; now judge has banned him

Elders at a Pennsylvania Church knew that a former youth minister and camp leader had confessed to abuse. But they still allowed him to come to church services until a judge ordered him to stay away.

Muslim inmates sue over combined faith services in Arkansas prisons

Muslim prisoners say the Arkansas Department of Correction requires them to attend a combined Friday prayer service with members of the Nation of Islam and Nation of Gods and Earths.

Life stories — not sermons — guide Gilead Church in Chicago

At Gilead Church in Chicago, life stories are as sacred as Scripture.

Portland bans discrimination against atheists, other nonbelievers

Portland now bans discrimination against atheists, agnostics, and those who don't believe in "god or gods."

Releasing Vatican WWII archives removes an obstacle to Catholic-Jewish peace

The long-simmering controversy over Pius XII's response to the Holocaust has the power to undo many of the extraordinary positive gains that have been achieved since 1965, writes A. James Rudin.

Monumental loss: Azerbaijan and ‘the worst cultural genocide of the 21st century’

A damning new report details an attempted erasure by Azerbaijan of its Armenian cultural heritage, including the destruction of cultural and religious artifacts.

 


 

Latest news from RNS

Pope: Vatican next year to open archives on wartime Pius XII

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis said Monday he has decided to open up the Vatican archives on World War II-era Pope Pius XII, who has been criticized by Jews of staying silent on the Holocaust.

High court declines New Jersey preservation grants case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a case from New Jersey that raised the issue of preservation grants to religious buildings.

Miniature Washington Cathedral to be created with Lego bricks

The completed Lego cathedral will be 7 feet tall, 13 feet long and 8 feet wide — about the size of a minivan.

More views from RNS

Indiana tax preparer shows limits and liberties of our post-Masterpiece Cakeshop world

Four years after the raucous response to Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a mistaken claim of religious conscience shows how a promising consensus may be forming, writes Jacob Lupfer.

Seven things that death can teach you

How shiva has jumped the shark, and other observations after my father's death.

Millennial Mormons and the polarized future of the faith

Early reactions to "The Next Mormons" mirror the polarization I see happening in the Mormon world more generally, as people separate themselves into camps and police their boundaries.