VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Paul VI was elected in 1963 and implemented the reforms started by his predecessor, John XXIII, with the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The post Pope Paul VI to be beatified this fall: Will one miracle be sign of sainthood? appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (RNS) Across the nation, faith-based organizations share gifts, hope and a new outlook on life with women in the sex industry. The post Christian ministries help women escape sex industry appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
(RNS) The process of engaging cultures is especially advanced in Asia, where Jesuits have established a beachhead. But it also means that theologians often use nontraditional formulations to try to communicate the faith to Hindu or Buddhist audiences. The post Vatican threatens Jesuit theologian in India with censure appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
MOSCOW (RNS) Both the Kremlin and the Moscow Patriarchate have been positioning Russia as a moral bastion in contrast to Europe and the United States. The post Drag queen winner of Eurovision contest condemned by Russian Orthodox Church appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
Rania Khalek ("Muftah," May 19, 2014) In March 2004, President George W. Bush gave a speech to an audience of 250 women from around the world to commemorate International Women’s Day. His speech focused on the women of Iraq and Afghanistan who he proudly proclaimed were “learning the blessings of freedom” thanks to the United States....
Alexander Diziadosz and Laila Bassam (Reuters, May 8, 2014) Beirut - A planned visit by the head of the Maronite church to Jerusalem has stirred an outcry in Lebanon, which is still technically at war with its southern neighbour Israel. Lebanon's Patriarch Beshara al-Rai said last week he would join Pope Francis during a May 24-26 tour of the Holy Land, a visit that would make him the first Maronite...
For all his modernising, the Catholic church's leader has enlisted a very old enemy in his battle against secularism As Mother Teresa lay in a Calcutta hospital the year before she died, her violently disturbed sleep became intolerable, her doctors seemingly unable to help. The problem, the visiting Archbishop of Calcutta suggested, was not a medical matter but something altogether more sinister: this...
We may find the spirituality of this great work questionable, but the humanity behind it and his continuing brilliance, is not Eliot at his best is one of the greatest of poets, but it is impossible to divorce much of the best of his work from the most despicable or disturbing parts of his life. We have to accept that art is alchemy, that memories, reading, love and fear fuse together, and are transmuted...
Archbishop of Canterbury says church schools must not turn 'a convenient blind eye to institutional homophobia' The Christian faith or the Bible cannot be used to justify homophobic behaviour and must not be tolerated in Church of England schools, according to new guidance launched by the archbishop of Canterbury. Schools can be among the most homophobic of places and the church's schools need to do...
Crackdown on Muslim-turned-Christians has seen an increasing number seek refuge, giving religious life a small boost in one of the most 'godless' places on earth On a breezy Sunday morning, 17 Christian converts are being baptized into a Berlin congregation just in time for Christmas. The yellow, stained-glass windows, situated high enough to catch the suns beams, are glowing. The old wooden pews...
Head of prisons and probation service warns of risk of prisoners becoming radicalised and committing a terrorist offence The head of the prison and probation service has said there is a significant threat of Islamic radicalisation behind bars. Michael Spurr, the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service of England and Wales (Noms), told BBC1's Panorama: "There is a significant...
Senior ministers Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Aharonovitch condemn 'price-tag' attacks as author Amos Oz calls militants neo-Nazis Calls are mounting for hardline Jewish settlers to be classified as terrorists after a spate of attacks on Palestinian property in the West Bank and Israel, and threats of violence towards Israeli soldiers. Last week, the justice minister, Tzipi Livni, and the internal security...
Identifying meat that has been pre-stunned was opposed by UK in 2010 amid fears it discriminated against Jewish and Muslim communities The British government opposed EU measures that would have required meat to carry labels confirming whether it came from animals that had been stunned before slaughter. As the row over unlabelled halal and kosher meat in the food chain rages , it has emerged that attempts...
Indignation about animal welfare is masking something a lot more insidious David Cameron went to Nando's last week. His startled fellow diners in Bristol's Park Street branch reported that he feasted on half a chicken with regular fries and coleslaw, accompanied with a glass of red wine. We don't know whether the chicken was halal or not, although on its website Nando's states that 34 of its 314 restaurants...
American first lady delivers president's weekly address to highlight concern over Nigeria Michelle Obama has taken the unique step of delivering her husband's weekly presidential address to express outrage at the kidnapping of the Nigerian schoolgirls. Continue reading... ...
America's first lady uses weekly national address to express heartbreak and outrage at Boko Haram kidnappings, vowing that US was doing everything possible to help rescue Michelle Obama has taken the rare step of delivering her husband's weekly video address to express outrage over the plight of more than 250 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist militants in Nigeria. Continue reading... ...
Concerns raised about spate of vandalism by hardline Jewish nationalists in Jerusalem churches and attacks in Galilee Christians in Israel and Palestine fear an escalation of violence against them after a spate of vandalism in Jerusalem churches by hardline Jewish nationalists ahead of Pope Francis's visit this month. Continue reading... ...
The most senior authority in the birthplace of Islam adds his voice to those of other religious leaders in the Muslim world Saudi Arabia's grand mufti has condemned Nigeria's Boko Haram for its kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls and described the group as "set up to smear the image of Islam". Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh said the movement, which says it wants to establish a pure Islamic...
UN health body fears secondary infections may be rising, raising potential for global spread and stirring memories of Sars virus The World Health Organisation (WHO) will hold urgent talks next week on the often fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) virus , after a sharp increase in infections in Saudi Arabia, and the first reported case in Lebanon. Continue reading... ...
The Benham brothers lose their HGTV show, nuns are losing trust in the Vatican, Westboro Baptist is losing another Phelps and the crucifixion is losing its central figure. All that and more in today's Roundup. The post ‘Cuz you know you can’t wait for Friday’s Roundup appeared first on Religion News Service . ...