RNS Morning Report: Lutheran comfort dogs; Bishops close strong; #ShowUpforShabbat

Comfort dog Cubby rests after a long day of comforting victims of the wildfires in southern California. RNS photo by Cathleen Falsani

Need to know: Friday, November 16, 2018

Lutheran comfort dogs bring compassion, care during disasters

Golden retrievers from Lutheran Church Charities' K-9 Ministries tended to survivors of a shooting and wildfires in California in past days.

U.S. Catholic bishops head for global meeting on sex abuse anxious for progress

The bishops' annual meeting closed without any firm resolution, setting the Vatican and American prelates on a collision course.

Clergy sex abuse: Why a national all-faiths inquiry is needed  

If we want our children to be safer, we cannot afford the comfortable delusion that this is an isolated problem, write Christa Brown and David Clohessy.

Global Solidarity Follows Synagogue Shootings

Hundreds of thousands of non-Jews attended Shabbat services around the world after the Tree of Life attack in Pittsburgh.

Romney, Sinema and the politics of gender

What the two ‘Mormon’ senators tell us about the LDS battle over sexuality

Latest news from RNS

As immigrants come north, ‘Let Our Families Go’ caravan heads for border tent city

The goal of the trip, an organizer said, is to 'raise our voices and ensure that indefinite detention of asylum seekers does not happen.'

Bishops angered by scandal involving ex-Cardinal McCarrick

The country's Catholic bishops called Wednesday for a formal repudiation of the disgraced cardinal facing allegations of sexual misconduct over a long stretch of his career.

Seminaries partner with prisons to offer inmates new life as ministers

Evangelical schools such as Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary offer inmates a free, on-site college degree if they promise they'll minister to other inmates once they graduate.

More views from RNS

Bishops continue to define response to sex abuse despite Vatican call for delay

Some U.S. bishops felt their house was burning down, and the Vatican was asking them to delay turning on the fire hoses, writes Thomas Reese.

FBI’s new hate crime report captures an America changed by hate

The official statistics reflect a climate of growing hate that is emboldened and indeed enacted by those at the top, writes Simran Jeet Singh.

How to talk about racism in the church without becoming bitter

Unfortunately, many predominantly white Christian outlets and organizations prove extremely hostile to any anti-racist messages. But those particular places do not represent the church as a whole.

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