Pope Francis, right, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, waves to the crowd on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, as they stand on the Speaker’s Balcony on Capitol Hill, after the pope addressed a joint meeting of Congress inside. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Need to know: Monday, August 17, 2020
Joe Biden, president-elect at last, was shaped by a very American Catholic faith
“(Biden's) separating of the secular sphere and the sacred sphere, not in his personal life but in his approach to governing, is straight out of that Kennedy lineage,” said Manhattan College professor Natalia Imperatori.
Why Jerry Falwell Jr.’s social media ‘yacht’ posts were problematic for Liberty University
For leaders of religious institutions, social media can be another way to share their public messages and a peek into their private lives. But it also can be dangerous, as Falwell has discovered.
Jim Wallis replaced as Sojourners editor after controversy over article on Catholic racism
Wallis said the decision to remove an essay criticizing white supremacists within the Catholic Church was wrong.
Judge orders John MacArthur, Grace Community Church to wear masks, social distance during services
John MacArthur's megachurch can keep worshipping indoor for now, proving that worshipers wear masks and keep six feet apart.
Brenda Salter McNeil on racial justice: ‘Silence is violence’
Brenda Salter McNeil, pastor, writer and speaker, says in her new book, 'Becoming Brave,' that now is the time for Christians to act for racial justice.
Pakistan’s persecution of Ahmadi Muslims must end
During every moment of their life, Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan face persecution, writes Siobhain McDonagh.
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New liberal Christian groups hope to turn Trump voters to ‘Pope Francis voters’
Several new progressive Christian groups hope to woo religious voters away from Donald Trump.
Jerry Falwell Jr. needs to go, say Liberty University alumni and Christian pastors
The behavior of Liberty University's leader is inexcusable in a president of a Christian university, church pastors and alumni say.
In popes’ traditional summer retreat, locals move on without Francis
In the years since Francis decided he'd stay in Rome, locals have been forced to reenvision Castel Gandolfo without the glamour — and revenue — the papal visits brought them.
More views from RNS
What the far-left might learn from Cardinal Bellarmine’s view of science
Progressives’ use of quasi-religious language has been noted in quarters critical of ‘wokeism’ — a term that expresses how much it looks and acts like a religion in the middle of an awakening, writes Charles C. Camosy.
How Kamala Harris delivers on 150 years of Black women’s political history
The Democrats' presumptive vice presidential nominee rose out of a network of women’s organizations and movements, churches and loving communities by which Black women have transformed themselves since Reconstruction, writes Cheryl Townsend Gilkes.
Five things Pope Francis should do while imprisoned by the pandemic
(RNS) — Reforms to the Vatican’s financial system, the Curia and how the church prevents clergy sexual abuse are the ecclesial equivalent of cleaning the basement and the attic, but now’s the time.
