In an interview with Poynter.org, NBC’s Lester Holt — whom I respect — said: “I always thought 9/11 would be the biggest story I would ever cover. But this (the coronavirus pandemic) is the biggest story we have ever seen.” Wow. That’s an amazing statement from a journalist of Holt’s status.
Read More(ANALYSIS) We are living in surreal times. The world as we knew it just over a week ago has been brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the virus devastated China’s Wuhan province, it spread to Europe and now the rest of the world. Our daily lives have been disrupted in a way never seen in our lifetimes.
Read MoreHeartbreak and hope. It’s a combination our Weekend Plug-In columnist has witnessed repeatedly when covering catastrophes, from the Oklahoma City bombing to Hurricane Katrina to, most recently, the March 3 Tennessee tornadoes that killed 25 people and injured hundreds.
Read More(OPINION) Argentina is a case study of the dwindling influence this pope has — even in his home country — when it comes to trying to influence the outcome of an issue that the Catholic church has seen as important for decades.
Read More(OPINION) The Muslim-majority West African nation has historically had high religious freedom, but changes to its Constitution and growing territorial control of terrorist groups could threaten that.
Read MoreThe best news stories start with a fantastic lede. Here are two fantastic ones from the world of religion news.
Read More(OPINION) The billionaire’s funeral raised the question of his personal legacy as well as his spiritual life. Based on interviews over the years, Welch, who grew up Catholic but did not practice for years, began to privately cultivate a Christian faith later in life with his wife Suzy, a Baptist.
Read More(OPINION) Here’s a fact: Pope Francis, a day after shaking hands with the faithful on Ash Wednesday, did not get coronavirus, something the Vatican later confirmed. That didn’t stop some news outlets from speculating on whether the pope had been infected by the deadly virus.
Read More(OPINION) In December 2019, news began to filter out of Nigeria that a Daesh affiliated terror group has been responsible for the brutal murder of several Christians. The new wave of killings does not come as a surprise.
Read More(OPINION) Americans don’t consider Democratic presidential candidates to be particularly religious, a new study reveals. But at the end of this past Tuesday night’s two-hour debate in Charleston, S.C., guess what? Faith took center stage.
Read MoreA new documentary explores four current examples of movements that have embraced or pushed anti-Semitic tropes and attitudes.
Read More(OPINION) “Weekend Plug-In” is a column by veteran religion writer Bobby Ross Jr. Look every Friday for analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith. This week: a focus on the intersection between politics and religion in the news.
Read More(OPINION) Pope Francis — a week after the dust settled from his decision not to create an Amazonian rite that would have allowed married men to serve as priests and women as deacons — continues to garner news coverage as Catholic progressives and traditionalists debate what it all means.
Read More(OPINION) In a surprise move, Francis rejected a proposal on Wednesday that had called for married men in remote areas of the Amazon to serve as priests, a decision widely seen as a victory for conservative Catholics who feared such an exception would eventually lift the celibacy requirement of clergy around the world.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) At the launch on Wednesday, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the ever-growing need to combat the increasing violence based on religion or belief, including “terrorists and violent extremists who target religious minorities, whether they are Yazidis in Iraq, Hindus in Pakistan, Christians in northeast Nigeria, or Muslims in Burma” and “the Chinese Communist Party’s hostility to all faiths.”
Read More(OPINION) A few things happened in January that have set the mood for the Iowa caucuses that took place Monday, the official start of the primary season. One of the biggest took place about 1,000 miles east of Des Moines, in Philadelphia, when Archbishop Charles Chaput was replaced by Nelson Perez.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) A recent report found that Islamic terrorist groups killed at least 1,000 Nigerian Christians last year and displaced many others with land grabs. While the government says it has defeated Boko Haram, killings of Christians have spiked in recent weeks.
Read More(OPINION) “Race Against Time,” which hits bookstores Tuesday, reflects the deep Christian faith of veteran Mississippi journalist Jerry Mitchell, whose stories have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. (“Weekend Plug-In” is a column by veteran religion writer Bobby Ross Jr. Look every Friday for analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith.)
Read More(REVIEW) Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the film Holy Silence focuses on the pontificate of Pius XII and whether the pope did enough to help Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II.
Read More(OPINION) Come April, Downen’s work on the “Abuse of Faith” project could earn him and his colleagues a Pulitzer Prize. For now, it has resulted in a new gig for the former City Hall reporter. (“Weekend Plug-In” is a column by veteran religion writer Bobby Ross Jr. Look every Friday for analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith.)
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