Religion is a collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values
The bishops of South Sudan find “much to celebrate” in the newly independent country, praising peaceful advances, while also noting causes for concern. “Building a new nation is not a quick nor easy task. Most of our people are living in peace and democracy for the first time in decades. There is religious freedom, with Muslims, Christians and followers of African … Read more »
Updated on Nov. 19, 2013 at 3:29 p.m., MST: It was confirmed on Tuesday that baby Milagros died on the morning of Nov. 18 after nearly a week of fighting for her life. In statements to CNA, the assistant manager of the Clinica Santa Teresita, Clemencia Castro, said the baby died from respiratory arrest after she was unable to respond to … Read more »
Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Mexico City encouraged Catholics throughout the Americas to see their lives as a pilgrimage, enlightened by faith and guided by the Virgin Mary. At the heart of the “continental mission” of the Americas is “the encounter with Him who loves us most,” Cardinal Rivera said at a Nov. 16 Mass at the Basilica of … Read more »
The Harmony Foundation, based in Mumbai, on Oct. 27 conferred its Mother Teresa Awards on eight individuals and an organization for their work towards social justice and peace in the world. “We strive to restore belief in compassion and egalitarianism that highlights the various endeavors taken up by individuals and NGOs to promote peace and strengthen humanity as a whole,” Abraham … Read more »
A conference and pilgrimage held this weekend at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City will feature Carl Anderson, the Knights of Columbus’ Supreme Knight, among its speakers. “At Guadalupe, Mary’s message was one of love and reconciliation, which can be seen echoed in Pope Francis’ efforts to reach out to the poor and marginalized, to the fallen-away … Read more »
The Church in the Americas will be strengthened only by faithful Catholics whose lives of witness flow from their relationship with Jesus, the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro has said. “A missionary disciple must live the encounter with Christ,” Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta said Nov. 16 to a group of Catholic leaders gathered in Mexico City. The Americas today are in … Read more »
Church leaders at a conference in Mexico City emphasized unity and Christ-centered witness, as they discussed Our Lady of Guadalupe’s ongoing call to evangelize the Americas. “Our Lady of Guadalupe is the mother of the Mexicans, but she is also the mother of everyone who draws near to her,” Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to Mexico, said Nov. 16. When Our … Read more »
For the first time since the monster storm swept through the central Philippines on Nov. 8, the 22-year-old nurse washed and dressed for church. As a priest offered prayers for the storm’s victims, Cabiao sat at the back of Santo Niño Church, fighting back tears. “Hold on to your faith, be strong, and Tacloban will rise again,” the Rev. Isagani Petilos told his flock. But Cabiao and the other … Read more »
Then McGurk did something incongruous in a school that avoids plastic toys, let alone technology: She handed each student an iPad. By chance, Ocean Charter, a Westside school based on the Waldorf educational philosophy, became part of the much-debated $1-billion effort to provide an iPad to every student and teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Also L.A. Unified schools to move forward with trimmed-down iPad plan Funding … Read more »
Pretty much from its founding in 1905, Mount Hollywood Congregational Church has charted its own course: integrating early, protesting injustice often, trying hard to change the world for the better. Its 50 or so active members, while diverse in age, ethnicity and background, are very much in sync in their spiritual style. Also Getting your nails done in a manly manner Kidnapped iPhone roams far from home Operators at … Read more »
“We felt like outcasts,” Galloway said. “We are not Christians, but we wanted to be at the meetings. When the minister was at the podium, it felt like a pulpit.” On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal of a lower court decision in their favor in a case that could lead to a significant shift in law separating church and state and free city councils to … Read more »
He was also a Muslim, and the men who stormed his village with machetes were Buddhists looking for Muslims to kill. As the mob set fire to more than 100 homes not marked with a Buddhist flag, Abdul’s neighbors took cover at the mosque. But Abdul wasn’t quick enough. According to a survivor, the old man was killed by an assailant who swung a heavy sword into the back … Read more »
When news broke a week after the Sept. 11 attacks that three foreign-born men were arrested in Detroit in a terrorism investigation, all of us covering the story had the same thought: this must be part of the “second wave” of attacks everyone in Washington was predicting. Weeks later came Attorney General John Ashcroft’s pronouncement that the men might have actually known about the Sept. 11 attacks ahead of time. … Read more »
After all, this quiet town near the Idaho border, founded by Mormon pioneers, had a longstanding ban on alcohol sales. And in keeping with the tenets of the Mormon Church, few people in Hyde Park drank at all. But this month, after a long and bitter battle, residents voted nearly two to one to allow alcohol sales, making Hyde Park one of the last bastions to loosen its rules on … Read more »
Mr. Kwaku Bonsam, a well-known traditional fetish priest in Ghana, was the subject of a Metropolitan cover article in July. He spent a year in the Bronx, in part for operations on his face to repair the scars from third-degree burns suffered in a childhood accident. Members of the city’s large Ghanaian community — particularly those from the Ashanti region, where Mr. Kwaku Bonsam grew up — quickly embraced him. … Read more »
“Darling” is both more and less than a “spiritual autobiography,” which is how it has been marketed. It doesn’t offer a continuous personal narrative of spiritual development, but its inquiries range much further than personal experience, exploring hospice care in Las Vegas and drag queen nuns in San Francisco; the crises of Mother Teresa and the emptiness that “clings” to Jerusalem shopkeepers, “mermen of green-lit grottoes piled with cheap treasure.” … Read more »
The complexity of O’Connor’s thinking, together with the largely flawless pages in her hand, suggest that these entries may be fair copies of earlier drafts. Clearly O’Connor’s virtuosity makes her self-conscious. Young as she was, new to writing, she could only have been pleased, even awed, at having produced these beautiful sentences. Perhaps nothing written is finally meant to go unread, even if the reader is only a creature of … Read more »
Typhoon survivors gather in ruined churches across the Philippines on Sunday as Filipinos look to religion as a solace. Marilynne Robinson reviews Flannery O’Connor’s new “Prayer Journal” for the New York Times, writing, “her religious sincerity is beyond question, but the forms of its expression raise many questions.” UK Baroness Sayeeda Warsi says protecting the religious freedom of minorities is a responsibility of all faiths. Photographic proof that there is apparently no … Read more »
(RNS) The United Methodist Church’s division over homosexuality grew heated Friday (Nov. 15), as the denomination’s Council of Bishops called for charging retired Bishop Melvin Talbert with presiding at the Oct. 26 wedding of two men, which the church forbids. Bishop Melvin Talbert joined 13 other United Methodist bishops at a gathering on May 4 outside the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida, where they showed their support … Read more »
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (RNS) Jason Testerman is a pastor’s kid. He grew up in church. His wife is a Christian. He worked as a missionary in India. Jason Testerman is the founder of Free Thought Exchange, an organization that creates dialogue between atheists and Christians. Testerman was a featured workshop leader at Skepticon, an annual skeptics conference held in Springfield, Mo. RNS photo by Kellie Moore This image is available for … Read more »
Nothing new here regarding the Palin-Tapper exchange. Tapper and the rest in the liberal media jump at every chance to destroy conservatism, for these so-called “journalists” see this as part of their job. It’s not limited to “journalists,” either. Liberals are liberals before they are anything else, and that includes Catholics. Witness the recent “Catholic” politicians voting for gay marriage legislation because they read that the pope had said “Who … Read more »
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the government’s minister for faith and the first Muslim member of a British cabinet, said religious freedom is a proxy for human rights and must not be an “add-on” to foreign policy. Photo by Kaveh Sardari/Council on Foreign Relations This image is available for Web and print publication. For questions, contact Sally Morrow. WASHINGTON (RNS) The highest-ranking Muslim in the British government on Friday (Nov. 15) called … Read more »
Pope Francis’ video message to the pilgrims gathered in Mexico City today encouraged the faithful to spread the Gospel with a peaceful manner, as did Christ. “The task of evangelization requires much patience, much patience…don’t lose peace in the presence of discord. And know also to present the Christian message in a serene and gradual manner, with the perfume of the … Read more »
A 16 year-old Argentine boy who suffers from chronic encephalopathy – a brain disorder – was moved by a letter from Pope Francis responding to a note that he had sent the pontiff a few days earlier. The boy, Nicolas Marasco, is unable to speak, but was able to send a letter to Pope Francis, with the help … Read more »
The province of Quebec is moving towards a “closed secularism” that will harm the ability to teach Catholicism in high schools, says a principal leading a legal challenge against regulations of religion classes. Paul Donovan, principal of Montreal’s Loyola High School, said he has no problem promoting pluralism in a province-mandated religion and ethics class, but he objects to provincial … Read more »