(COMMENTARY) The “trial of the century” of Cardinal George Pell - the Vatican’s “number 3” man and head of its finances - on sexual abuse charges has been passed by a Melbourne Magistrate to the Victoria County Court for adjudication. Magistrate Belinda Wallington found sufficient evidence to justify a trial for the 76-year old former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, who has been placed on leave by Pope Francis to respond to the charges.
Read MoreWhen Larry Norman died in 2008 there was one thing the critics – secular and religious – agreed on: The controversial singer and music maven helped create the "Contemporary Christian Music" industry. For Norman, that was not good news.
Read More(COMMENTARY) In part two of her look at the UK Government’s new integration strategy, Dr. Jenny Taylor examines how the ground is set in Britain for a showdown between the secular state’s need to govern its disparate peoples but without a religion to bind it together. Religio means ‘to bind’ but in the UK, despite historical precedent, the majority do not believe and the religions that there are have their own versions of transcendent accountability.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The British Government’s Green Paper, published on March 14, outlines a strategy that signifies a 180-degree U-turn in the direction of nearly 70 years of public policy since the Second World War. The final report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration’s own inquiry into the integration of immigrants (2017) declared last year that ‘multiculturalism ... is defunct’.
Read More(OPINION) Hours before Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week, Lt. Col. Beltrame died in a sacrificial act that caused mourning across France. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said Beltrame was a civil servant doing his job and a "man who deliberately shaped and disciplined his own life to place the well-being of others before his own."
Read MoreAfter decades of fighting about sex and marriage, the world's 12.5 million United Methodists are still waiting for a final shoe to drop. It's less than a year until a special General Conference that has been empowered to choose a model for United Methodist life after the Sexual Revolution – some path to unity, rather than schism.
Read MoreIt is a time of reckoning in the media industry. Breakthrough reporting revealed that newsroom sexual misconduct is both pervasive and protected. That truth became the catalyst for the #MeToo moment, which opened eyes by opening old -- and not-so-old wounds for all to witness. How did it happen here? How did our systems and values harbor harassment and discrimination?
Read More(COMMENTARY) Republican Jeffrey Bell died in February, after a career in which he ran for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey – in 1978 and 2014 – but was better known for work behind the scenes helping others, following beliefs that escaped easy political labels.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The Russian media scene presents a sobering picture for those who hold to theories of the inevitable progress of mankind. Though the collapse of the Soviet Union ushered in a decade of a press freedoms in Russia under Boris Yeltsin, with Vladimir Putin the situation has tightened. The state does not pervade all aspects of intellectual life. But where its interests are concerned - dissent is not tolerated.
Read More(OPINION) The mood at the recent National Prayer Breakfast was affectionate when Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans introduced House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. People keep asking how the two can be such close friends when they disagree on about "80 percent" of the issues facing America. The key, Richmond said, is to understand that faith can transcend politics.
Read More(COMMENTARY) As Christians enter the season of Lent, the church's mission is as paramount as ever – to spread the Gospel and inform parishioners, through news stories and commentary, about the politics and culture around us. The mainstream press is not the least interested in such a mission – so it has largely become the role of the religious-based press – and the communication tools of the 21st century – to fill the void.
Read More(Commentary) Our review of the U.S. press coverage of claims that Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, the president of the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK), had given his permission to clergy to bless same-sex unions has sparked rigorous debate on social media. George Conger responds with his perspective on what is causing the discord.
Read More(COMMENTARY) For the Branch Davidians, everything hinged on Book of Revelation texts about the Seven Seals and "the Lamb," a mysterious figure who would open those seals in the Last Days. That was the infamous Branch Davidian drama summed up in one tense exchange, according to the creators of the six-part Paramount Network miniseries "Waco," which runs through Feb. 28.
Read More(COMMENTARY) “German Cardinal Endorses Homosexual Heresy” states the headline of a Sunday story in the Daily Caller. It is a wonderful headline crafted to drive readers to the religion section of the well-respected online political news portal. But is it true?
Read More(COMMENTARY) An article in the Guardian about Catholic resistance to relaxing a Good Friday drinks ban has no Catholic voices. What this piece does have is assumptions. It assumes what the stance of the Catholic Church might be and that all right thinking people will agree with the author’s worldview. George Conger argues that readers are left an example of agitprop, which fails the basic tests of sound journalism.
Read More(COMMENTARY) "Fake news" - and the overuse of the term itself – has become so pervasive that even Pope Francis felt strong enough about it to address the phenomenon plaguing our Facebook feeds and Google searches. The added layer of technology and the changing dynamic within journalism has made this an issue that could have severely negative consequences on our political and economic systems going forward.
Read MoreIs Oprah the "pope" of the religiously unaffiliated? If that label fits anyone, it would be Winfrey. "She talks about God, but for Oprah that can almost be the God of the week, the spiritual flavor of the week. … How she talks about spirituality and about truth is constantly changing. That's her gift. That's who she is. For her, that stuff will preach."
Read More(COMMENTARY) Why would an annual event featuring tens of thousands of people from across the country who peacefully assemble on Washington’s National Mall in protest of an issue they care very passionately about receive little to no media coverage? That very situation plays itself out every January when it comes to the mainstream media’s handling of the March for Life, an event that brings together a cross-section of Americans in support of the rights of the unborn.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Several centuries after the birth of Jesus, Syrian scribes offered the names for the wise men who came to Bethlehem. Over the centuries, images of them have shaped countless Nativity scenes, church pageants and carols. Comparing the simple biblical account with many colorful "Three Kings" stories, is rather like comparing the humble, pious, 3rd century St. Nicholas of Myra with the Santa Claus found in Hollywood flicks.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Canada serves as a warning to the United States of the tricky balance that the legalization of same-sex marriage brings with it. The Supreme Court must protect the religious freedom of all American citizens. Should justices rule otherwise, the U.S. could be headed down the same downward spiral that Canada finds itself in today.
Read More
