Posts in Africa
Kenyan churches reopen without kids, causing fear of gap in education

The Kenyan government has not allowed kids under 10 to return to churches or schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Christian leaders fear online Sunday School, which isn’t reaching many kids, won’t be enough to fill in the gap of religious education for this younger generation.

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Ethiopia’s Increasing Vulnerability to Islamic Extremism and What That Means for the Horn of Africa

(ANALYSIS) External forces from the Middle East are exploiting ethnic tensions and threatening peace between Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia.

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'Culture Of Clericalism': Firestorm Of Letters Fly From Cardinals, Bishops Following McCarrick Report

Cardinals, archbishops and other clerical leaders of the Catholic Church from around the world have penned a flurry of letters and official statements in the wake of the ground-breaking McCarrick report that concludes while many in the Vatican hierarchy had known for years about sexual abuse allegations against ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick and not removed him, Pope Francis was not complicit.

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A delay in burial divides Muslim community in Uganda

A delay in the burial of a prominent Ugandan politician has divided the country’s Muslim community, with many arguing that burial must take place within 24 hours despite relatives needing to travel from abroad during a pandemic.

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Ensuring An Equal Future For Girls Around The World

(OPINION) The United Nation’s International Day of the Girl Child uplifts young girls in countries where they are historically oppressed, many of them as religious minorities, to rise above gender-based violence, harmful practices and HIV and AIDS. This turns them away from harmful practices like child marriage.

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Nigerian boy jailed for blasphemy offers hope, despite holes in media coverage

(OPINION) An uplifting story from The Washington Post about a young Nigerian boy brought hope during times of uncertainty in many religious communities. Other news sources tried to continue telling the story, but the religious angle seemed underdeveloped.

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Yet another book about who will follow Pope Francis examines a church in transition

(REVIEW) While 83-year-old Pope Francis is in good health, that hasn’t stopped speculation over who will come next. In his new book, author George Weigel examines the problems affecting the church and what the next pope will need to do in order to address them. Think of it like a very long to-do memo for the next head of the Catholic church.

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Pastors In Uganda Are Eyeing Next Year’s General Election

In 1977, an archbishop was shot dead for protesting human rights abuses. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, in power for 34 years, denounces clergy activism. But this year, several pastors have joined in political activism for an opposition party, with one even running for president. They say Uganda needs leaders who understand religious freedom and Christian values.

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Zimbabwean churches lead Zimbabwean Lives Matter protest against abuse, corruption

Zimbabwean human rights, democracy and Christian groups are rallying behind Catholic bishops in the southern African country after leaders were attacked over the weekend by the government. Government authorities labelled the bishops “evil” after they voiced their concerns over the country’s worsening economic and human rights crisis in a pastoral letter that has given new life to the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter online protest.

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Church in Uganda razed overnight despite COVID-19 ban on evictions

Although St. Peter’s Church in Kampala had received their land through a donation, a title was never given, and the donor’s children sold the land. Thirteen people have been arrested so far in connection with the church’s demolition, which took place late at night during the government’s curfew hours for COVID-19.

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Christian leaders debate Zimbabwe’s reparations for white farmers

Christian leaders in Zimbabwe are cautiously optimistic that a recent government move to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers violently forced off their land in 1999 to resettle black families can revive the southern African country’s struggling economy by boosting its agricultural sector.

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