VATICAN CITY (RNS) Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Muslim leader Omar Abboud will accompany the pope on his May 24-26 trip, which will include Jordan, the West Bank and Israel. The post Pope Francis will take rabbi and Muslim leader with him to Holy Land appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Fans of slain Archbishop Oscar Romero want Pope Francis to declare him a martyr and place him on the path to sainthood, but Vatican officials say no official action has been taken yet. The post Vatican says no movement (yet) on sainthood for Oscar Romero appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
(RNS) Cardinal Walter Kasper has been enjoying the kind of influence that a short time ago would have been as unimaginable as, well, the kinds of reforms that Pope Francis has been promoting. The post Cardinal Kasper is enjoying the spotlight, and taking heat, as the ‘pope’s theologian’ appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
One future chocolate firm boss refused to fight but became pro-war, while his pilot brother railed against those in command Continue reading... ...
German court rules late American psychologist is author of book she claimed was dictated to her by Jesus via 'waking dreams' Jesus Christ does not hold copyright for works published in his name, a German court has ruled. Frankfurt's higher regional court this week ruled that the late American psychologist Helen Schucman, and not Jesus Christ, should be regarded the legal author of a book that Schucman...
By caring for wounded soldiers in the first world war my father sought to show that conscientious objection was not about cowardice It is good that there are always people who will stand up for their moral position against the tide of public opinion and government aims. My father and my uncle were among them when in 1916 they refused to be conscripted into the army. I'll be remembering them today,...
A new report on a serious issue reveals the decidedly political agenda of its authors instead This week the Anti-Defamation League an organization with a long history of trying to silence and intimidate those who don't share their unwavering support for Israel and its policies published a survey ringing the alarm about anti-Semitism. Rather than advance our understanding of this serious issue, the...
Justin Welby thinks it's great that parliament can and does pass laws but he opposes gay marriage and homophobia, aides say The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has told the gay magazine PinkNews it is "great" that parliament passed a measure he opposed, leaving his aides scrambling to explain that all he meant was that it is great that parliament can and does pass laws. Welby, who...
Pope Francis has speculated as to what would happen if an expedition of aliens wanted to convert to Christianity, but they're probably closer to God than we are anyway Do aliens believe in God? Did aliens create God? Did God create aliens? Is God, in fact, an alien? Religion and extraterrestrial beliefs don't tend to go together. So it was something of a surprise when Pope Francis himself waded in...
The $700m museum is set for its ceremonial opening on Thursday, despite anxieties over the storage of unidentified remains, entry fees and a video about al-Qaida 9/11 Museum: an emotional underworld beneath Ground Zero More than 12 years after the horrifying events that it describes, after countless obstacles, disputes and funding problems, the 9/11 memorial museum is finally preparing to open its...
A group of humanists wanted to eliminate 'under god' from the Pledge of Allegiance. They lost in the most interesting way It's always amusing for an outsider to see the way in which Americans treat their constitutional documents as a sacred text, and then the knots into which they get tied when said sacred text seems to forbid taking any text as sacred. The separation of church and state is not just...
Pupils and teachers at the Birmingham education success story investigated over alleged Islamist plot say claims are 'ludicrous' Hasan Sajad is a year-11 student at Park View academy in Birmingham. He should be thinking about sitting his GCSEs shortly, but his school's emergence at the centre of a political furore about alleged Islamist takeovers has given him something else to worry about: his future....
(RNS) A Facebook page -- called "Stealthy Freedom of Iranian Women" -- was set up by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad and includes photos of women without their hijab. The post Iranian women shed veils for Facebook page appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
Gay marriage in Idaho-hum. A "Black Mass" coda. Pope Francis is SO over. But we do have his beach reading list. And Bart Ehrman's book on Jesus as God. The post Liberal Puritans * Peak Pope * Paul (Rand) and Jews: Wednesday’s Roundup appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
(RNS) A measles outbreak tied to a group of Amish missionaries in Ohio has reached 68 cases, giving the state the dubious distinction of having the most cases reported in any state since 1996, health officials say. The post Ohio measles outbreak tied to Amish missionaries appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
"Of all the social issues facing our world, President Jimmy Carter says the abuse of women and girls is the greatest injustice of all, and that the pretext is often religion." The post Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Video: Women, religion, violence and power appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
ROME (RNS) Italian director Daniele Luchetti plans to make the $12 million Spanish language film, titled “Call Me Francesco,” with producer Pietro Valsecchi, who has made some of Italy’s highest-grossing movies. The post Antonio Banderas may be cast as Pope Francis in biopic appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
(RNS) Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wants you to forget what your mother, your shrink and your pastor told you. Love is not the answer. It's lust. The post ‘Kosher Lust’: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says it’s more important than love appeared first on Religion News Service . ...
“The moment you see orgasm as a transcendent experience and one that can lead to mystical union, it’s truly transformative. We don’t know how to deal with orgasm in American sexuality. For us, it’s just something that proves that the sexual encounter is over. The whole experience of sex is a means to an end. It […] The post Quote of the Day: “Kosher Lust” author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach appeared...
Carlos Sardiña Galache ("The Christian Science Monitor," May 13, 2014) Sittwe, Myanmar - Mohammed Saed is a man with two names and two identities. On one side of a checkpoint, he is a Muslim living in a wretched refugee camp. On the other side, he belongs to the majority Buddhist community in northwestern Myanmar's Rakhine State....