Heartbreak 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 MoreAs a noun, cloister means a covered walk in a convent with a wall on one side and a colonnade open on the other. As a verb, it means to go into seclusion. The connection between a monastery — during Lent no less — and self-isolation makes a place like The Met Cloisters in New York more relevant than ever.
Read More(OPINION) With proper precautions, religious traditions can and have continued. For priests, a pandemic is not only an impediment to their duties but is central to their calling.
Read MoreItaly’s lockdown to contain the coronavirus interrupted a Raphael show of more than 100 of the artist’s paintings and drawings. The exhibit ironically marks the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance artist’s death by fever at the age of 37. A private tour of the Vatican Museum last week gave one of the last peeks into the now-closed Rafael show, among other treasures of the art world in Vatican City.
Read More(OPINION) The Democratic primary race has shifted rapidly. The changes have implications for the general election in November, which we can try to make some sense of by examining polling across religious groups.
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(REVIEW) Best-selling author and NY Times op-ed contributor Timothy Egan lets us tag along on his journey from Canterbury to Rome in his latest book, A Pilgrimage to Eternity. He’s on his camino – the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrimage of over a thousand miles beginning from the English world’s oldest church and ending at St. Peter’s Square.
Read MoreBen Affleck’s new film, The Way Back, takes a classic trope and exploits the old cliche for a slightly new take on an old tale: the film focuses less on the redemption of the team and more on the redemption of the coach.
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) The late actor’s tragic death could have been an occasion to examine where his story ended - with the sort of faith he had avoided for much of his long life.
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 More(OPINION) A new study appears to show that the number of young people departing from religious affiliation is holding steady. This is big news if true, but it’s too soon to say.
Read More(OPINION) In Georgia, several publicly-funded Holocaust education initiatives face budget cuts. As Americans’ knowledge about this history declines, these programs should work together to find creative ways to survive and expand their reach.
Read More(OPINION) Leah Sharibu was just 14 when Boko Haram militants burst into her school in Northeastern Nigeria, two years ago this week and seized 109 Muslim girls and her, the only Christian. Five girls died, and 104 were later released. Her mother continues to campaign for government officials to find her daughter and bring her home.
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.
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