RNS Morning Report: Prison reform; Abortion politics; Methodist confusion

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Prisoners from Sacramento County await processing after arriving at the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, Calif., on Feb. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)


Need to know: Tuesday, May 29, 2018

How evangelicals teamed up with the White House on prison reform

They championed a bill that would allow prisoners to join programs, such as faith-based classes and job-training programs, but its fate in the U.S. Senate is unclear.

Irish vote shows need for new pro-life strategy

"Rarely have pro-choice laws been reversed," writes RNS columnist the Rev. Tom Reese. "This trend is not going to change. To think otherwise is simply ignoring reality."

United Methodist court opens door to petitions for special session on sexuality

The church's bishops recently recommended a solution for settling questions of ordination and marriage of LGBT members. But now individuals may submit their own, the denomination's top court ruled.

The evangelical fight to win back California

Now is the time for churches to “suck it up” and vote, said Franklin Graham, who is leading a three-bus caravan up the middle of the state to win California for Jesus. (Subscription may be required.)

Fearing extremist violence, Egypt silences 20,000 storefront mosques

The Egyptian government has banned preaching at 20,000 mosques as a precautionary measure to prevent extremist violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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Latest news from RNS

Some Irish Catholics worried, dismayed after abortion vote

Irish Catholics attending Sunday Mass were disappointed with the result of a referendum in which voters opted to legalize abortion and think it reflects the weakening of the Church

Photos of the Week

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s gallery includes images from England, Texas, Hong Kong, Brazil and more. [caption id="attachment_3640460" align="aligncenter" width="800"] A horseman wearing an elaborate bull mask rides past Our Lady of the Rosary church during the "Cavalhadas" festival in Pirenopolis, Goias state, Brazil, on May 20, 2018. The three-day festival was brought to Brazil in the 1800s by a Portuguese priest to celebrate the Holy Spirit and to commemorate the medieval victory of Iberian Christian knights over the Moors. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640459" align="aligncenter" width="800"] A Muslim woman prays at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640462" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Meghan Markle and her bridal party walk down the aisle at the beginning of the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, on May 19, 2018. (Danny Lawson/pool photo via AP)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640461" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Indian girls make flower Rangoli on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra festival in Varanasi, India, on May 24, 2018. Hindus across the country celebrate Ganga Dussehra by worshiping the River Ganges, which is considered the most sacred and the holiest river for Hindus. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640457" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Nathan Jordan, 18, a senior student at Alvin High School, sobs during a service at the Arcadia First Baptist Church two days after a shooting that killed 10 people at the Santa Fe High School, on May 20, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640456" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Funeral prayers are offered for Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh, who was killed in the Santa Fe High School shooting, during a service at the Brand Lane Islamic Center, on May 20, 2018, in Stafford, Texas. A gunman opened fire inside Santa Fe High School Friday, May 18, 2018, killing 10 people. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640458" align="aligncenter" width="800"] A child dressed in a traditional Chinese costume floats in the air, supported by a rig of hidden metal rods, during a parade on the outlying Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong to celebrate the Bun Festival on May 22, 2018.  The parade features children dressed as deities floating on poles above the crowd. The annual Bun Festival commemorates evil spirits being driven away from the island by villagers dressed as deities in the 18th century. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3609125" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss after their wedding ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England, on May 19, 2018. (Ben Birchhall/pool photo via AP)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640510" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Pitchers of juice are set out for Muslims to break their Ramadan fast at a free food distribution point in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on May 20, 2018. Muslims throughout the world are celebrating Ramadan until mid-June. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3640467" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Nigerian Catholics carry banners during a peaceful protest in Lagos, Nigeria, on May 22, 2018. Thousands of Catholics protested against recent kidnappings and killings in Nigeria. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)[/caption]

Booker and Warren fuse faith and politics in appeal to mainline preachers

Two Democratic senators, both potential presidential hopefuls, turned a sermon conference in Washington into a hybrid of a campaign rally and a preaching competition.

More views from RNS

Irish vote shows need for new pro-life strategy

"Rarely have pro-choice laws been reversed," writes RNS columnist the Rev. Tom Reese. "This trend is not going to change. To think otherwise is simply ignoring reality."

A humiliating month

In the #MeToo era.

Richard Paul Evans’ fake news about feminism

Jana Riess explains the facts of the women's movement to the Mormon novelist, who has warned of a "war on men" as deadly as the Nazis' final solution.

Thank you, Philip Roth

The greatest American Jewish writer has died. He was far more Jewish than he would have admitted to himself.

Paige Patterson has resigned. Imagine if he were Tim Cook.

(RNS) — Many of the secular communities in America that Southern Baptists have painted as evil possess more moral courage than they do.

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