RNS Morning Report: Southern Baptists Vow to Improve; Rep. Ilhan Omar; Contraception in Kenya

The Southern Baptist Convention headquarters in Nashville, Tenn. Photo courtesy of Baptist Press

Need to know: Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Southern Baptist leaders vow to improve addressing sex abuse after papers’ report

'I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure we never make these mistakes again,' Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said in response to an investigation by Texan newspapers.

Rep. Omar apologizes for tweets on AIPAC’s influence

Speaker Nancy Pelosi's public rebuke of a freshman representative who helped deliver the Democratic House majority was the latest exposure of an increasingly tense split among Democrats over U.S.-Israeli policy.

Kenya’s Catholic bishops provoke debate over public health and contraception

Citing an acute shortage of priests as a reason to obey the Vatican's longstanding ban on artificial forms of family planning, a bishop ignited a larger debate about family size and poverty.

Popular Israeli band drops out of Eurovision rather than perform on Shabbat

An Israeli band made up mostly of young adults with disabilities will perform during the 2019 Eurovision telecast. But a dispute over performing on the Sabbath kept the Shalva Band from representing Israel in the Eurovision contest.

Christian leaders, time to check your own yearbooks for past racist actions

Pastors should not wait for their racist past to be exposed before they deal with it, writes Jemar Tisby.

Turkey urges China to end mass detention of Muslims

Turkey has called China’s mass repression of its Uighur Muslim ethnic minority a “great shame for humanity” and has urged the Chinese government to close detention camps estimated to hold 1 million people, a rare rebuke from a majority-Muslim country.

 


 

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Mexico’s Fiesta de la Candelaria ends Christmas with a bang

A traditional Candlemas celebration in the southern Mexican town of Tlacotalpan combines mischief and heartfelt adoration of the Virgin Mary.

‘If you care about democratic society, fight anti-Semitism’

Deborah Lipstadt writes with a scholar’s analytical gaze about the ugly upturn of anti-Semitism, but she concedes, “My attempt to explore a perplexing and disturbing set of circumstances is written with the hope that it will provoke action.”

Six-year prison sentence for Jehovah’s Witness in Russia sparks outcry

Dennis Christensen, a 46-year-old carpenter who has lived in Russia for more than two decades, was sentenced on Wednesday.

More views from RNS

To Baptist clergy sex abuse survivors: 10 tips from the trenches

(RNS) — We who have been dealing with abuse issues for years already see familiar patterns of institutional protection and image management in Southern Baptist leadership's response.

Some dare call it anti-Semitism

(RNS) — If American Jews perceive that the Democratic Party is moving into anti-Israel positions, they will be faced with a major quandary.

After attack on Hindu community, Kentucky shows the way forward

Indian and Hindu Kentuckians work with leaders across faith and cultural backgrounds to show a united front in the face of hate crime against Hindu temple in Louisville, Ky., writes Jay Kansara.