RNS Morning Report: Vatican Summit Begins; Battling the Opioid Crisis; Brexit Response

Survivors of sex abuse hold a cross as they gather in front of Via della Conciliazione during a twilight vigil prayer of the victims of sex abuse, in Rome. Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit by warning senior Catholic figures that the faithful are demanding concrete action against predator priests and not just words of condemnation. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Need to know: Friday, February 22, 2019

Pope demands ‘concrete’ response to abuse crisis at Vatican summit

The challenge for the nearly 200 assembled clerics at the Vatican this week is to find concrete measures that the global church can agree on — and that will satisfy abuse victims.

In New England, battling the opioid crisis with a mix of science and faith

Churches scrambling to respond to the opioid crisis have more options for training and guidance, but in many places the most precious resource is hope.

Church of England’s synod takes on Brexit divisions as zero hour approaches

In a special motion at the Church of England's upcoming General Synod, weeks before the Brexit deadline, the archbishops of Canterbury and York will urge politicians to do more to heal divisions in society.

Bibi just made life much harder for Diaspora Jews

Jeffrey Salkin writes, American Jewish organizations must denounce the importation of hatred into the Israeli government. Loudly.

Vatican meeting on abuse opens with indictments from victims

Pope Francis’ goals for this week’s meeting on sex abuse have become clear: Win back the trust of the Catholic people by focusing on the victims of abuse, writes Thomas Reese.

Netflix’s ‘Shtisel’ is binge-worthy TV on a strict form of Judaism

What makes the Israeli series “Shtisel,” currently on Netflix, such groundbreaking television is that the characters are the black-hatted, side-curled men and bewigged women of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, a group that is known in Hebrew by the umbrella term Haredim and includes Hasidim.

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Tim Tebow makes the Christian movie he’s always wanted to see

'Run the Race,' the story of two high school brothers trying to overcome their family's struggles, sticks close to the power of fraternal love, sports and the Almighty.

Ahead of St. Louis meeting, one United Methodist offers prayers along the way

Helen Ryde decided to alleviate the tension ahead of what may be the most consequential meeting in the denomination’s history by turning the trip to Missouri into a pilgrimage.

Hindu monastic order is reclaiming transgender people’s status in Indian society

A reality TV star-turned-transgender activist is using the ancient Hindu tradition of akharas to go beyond activism's limits to change religious attitudes toward her community.

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We’ll never know the whole truth of Southern Baptists’ sex abuse crisis

(RNS) — I’m not counted among the 700 Southern Baptist victims reported by the Houston Chronicle, even though my assault fell in the 20-year window the newspaper investigated.

How a national emergency order endangers the ‘other’

The leaders of two congregations that have suffered violence incited by hate, we recognize the president's 'emergency' isn’t about an invasion, but the language of governmental overreach, write Jonathan Perlman and Eric S.C. Manning.

You may be reading the Bible wrong. Pete Enns says the Bible itself shows a better way.

The Bible isn't a rule book or an instruction manual, says Peter Enns, a Hebrew Bible scholar and the host of the popular podcast The Bible for Normal People.