Africa
Kenyan woman ‘marries’ the Holy Spirit in Anglican ceremony
By Fredrick Nzwili — June 4, 2021
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — A man who said he is her husband viewed the most recent ceremony differently: “There are not two marriages here. She is my wife.”
Kenyan Rastafarians seek to legalize marijuana over doubts of other faith leaders
By Fredrick Nzwili — May 20, 2021
(RNS) — ‘We want the world to no longer see it as a narcotic, but a medical plant that can help the creation,’ said a Rastafarian leader.
Attackers shoot Italian bishop-elect in his home in South Sudan
By Claire Giangravé and Fredrick Nzwili — April 27, 2021
(RNS) — Some have suggested that the attack may have been a warning for the Catholic Church to keep out of the political disputes in South Sudan.
World Vision faces pandemic’s ‘perfect storm,’ seeks to meet US, global needs
By Adelle M. Banks — April 9, 2021
(RNS) — 'There's a real threat that 30 years of progress in our fight against extreme poverty could be reversed,' World Vision US President Edgar Sandoval Sr. said.
Across Africa, hijab in schools divides Christians and Muslims
By Fredrick Nzwili — March 15, 2021
(RNS) — Some religious experts believe hijab should be banned from schools to create a learning environment free of religious influences.
The Central African Republic’s faith leaders are the country’s best hope for peace
By Christine Luby — March 8, 2021
(RNS) — 'Our neutrality remains a very important factor,' said Imam Abdoulaye Ouasselegue.
Attacks on ancient religious sites in Ethiopia kill hundreds, reports say
By Fredrick Nzwili — February 18, 2021
(RNS) — A church that claims to contain the ark of the covenant and one of Africa’s oldest mosques have been scenes of mass killing and desecration.
Islamist militants fuel Christian persecution in Kenya, faith leaders say
By Fredrick Nzwili — February 8, 2021
(RNS) — Somalia's al-Shabaab militants are trying to export their tyrannical strain of Shariah law, attacking Christians and churches.
With 9 new electors, Pope Francis remakes the college of cardinals
By Thomas Reese — October 25, 2020
(RNS) Over seven years, Pope Francis has gradually remade the college of cardinals, making it less European and more African and Asian.
The pandemic isn’t over, and misinformation can still be deadly
By Myal Greene — October 21, 2020
(RNS) — By engaging people of faith, we’ve defeated pandemics before. We can do it again.
In Togo, a Catholic nun fights COVID-19 for the sake of her AIDS patients
By Clément Girardot — June 19, 2020
(RNS) — ‘Here, people won’t die from COVID-19 but mostly from its consequences,’ said Sister Marie Stella Kouak, a Catholic nun whose AIDS relief program has seen costs rise as funding dries up.
At Manhattan mosque, an imam eases a pandemic’s grief
By Selin Thomas — May 27, 2020
NEW YORK (RNS) — A spiritual leader reassures families that COVID-19 victims will be accepted into paradise despite restrictions that disrupt funeral traditions.
International Women’s Day should celebrate invisible women, too — like my mother
By Rhona Murungi — March 9, 2020
(RNS) — Without the community she found in her local church and savings circle, her story, mine and many others' would have turned out very different.
World Vision tinkers with child sponsorship model that brought in millions
By David King — November 4, 2019
(The Conversation) — World Vision is now flipping its marketing script that critics said demeaned those it wanted to help. Instead of donors choosing children to support, children are beginning to choose donors.
Kenyan atheist demands Quakers revoke his membership
By Fredrick Nzwili — October 24, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Harrison Mumia, president of the Atheists in Kenya Society, applied to the church to cancel his membership and remove any records associated with him, since he no longer considers himself a Christian.
