In this photo taken March 26, 2020, residents live in crowded conditions in the Sayidka camp for internally displaced people in Mogadishu, Somalia. The country has a small number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus so far, but residents of the camp, who have already fled drought and violence from the Islamist al-Shabab militant group, say they are fearful of the virus and feel vulnerable. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Need to know: Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Pope Francis and the Vatican commit to aiding internally displaced people
The migrants and refugees section of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development released new guidelines for Catholic dioceses and parishes on Tuesday (May 5).
An Old World Torah scroll unites a North Carolina synagogue in a time of pandemic
The Torah, Judaism’s central religious text and the backbone of all later Jewish law and commentary, is the faith’s holiest religious object. The scroll must be written by hand with a quill — a process that takes at least a year.
Potawatomi Christian author Kaitlin Curtice on finding herself and God in new book
Curtice wasn’t expecting to release her book amid a pandemic, but she believes the book can speak into this moment in history.
Jim Bakker seeks dismissal of lawsuit claiming he promoted false coronavirus cure
A lawyer for Jim Bakker denies that that televangelist claimed a health supplement could cure coronavirus.
A kaddish for Kent State — and Jackson State
In a death-saturated America, let us remember six more, writes Jeffrey Salkin.
A pastor in the Bronx thought he knew hardship. Then his church saw 13 coronavirus deaths.
Promised Land, in the poorest congressional district in the nation, sees about 250 mostly African American and Latino worshipers on a normal weekend. Public housing units line the streets near the church in the Mott Haven neighborhood, where city officials estimate the poverty rate is about 44 percent.
Latest news from RNS
New report finds nonreligious people face stigma and discrimination
A new study finds that nonreligious people face discrimination and stigma, conceal their nonreligious identities and largely see themselves as atheists and humanists.
Samaritan’s Purse Central Park field hospital to close as virus cases drop in NYC
The group's medical staff, many of whom are experts in communicable diseases, will remain in New York City for a few more weeks to help out at Mount Sinai Hospital.
What would Rachel Held Evans do? Late author’s voice lives on through those she championed
One year after her death, it appears Evans isn’t finished speaking yet.
More views from RNS
Crowded into camps, refugees are sitting ducks for COVID-19
(RNS) — Refugees and displaced persons live under conditions ideal for the spread of COVID-19.
Religious liberty means COVID-19 restrictions cannot target churchgoers
(RNS) — If you can wander through a big-box retailer with a couple of hundred others, why can’t you sit in your family car on a Sunday and listen to a sermon?
What history tells us about Donald Trump’s reelection prospects
(RNS) — Here are some reasons Donald Trump could still pull it off in November, and even more reasons why he might not.
