Monday marks the centennial birth of Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II and was canonized a saint following his death. John Paul II was one of the longest-serving pontiffs in church history, the first non-Italian elected pope in 455 years and spent much of the 1980s ending communism in Eastern Europe.
Read MoreIn the Weekend Plug-in column, Bobby Ross Jr. reports on positive news concerning Associated Press religion writer Rachel Zoll, who is battling brain cancer.
Read More(OPINION) Toss in decades of liberal media bias, the growing influence of conservative talk radio, advocacy social media and tweet-storms from President Donald Trump and it combines for a lethal cocktail of mistrust. It has gotten more difficult to differentiate between trustworthy news sources on Facebook and Twitter — with coverage of Pope Francis not immune to the problem.
Read More(OPINION) The government can both provide robust protections for religious employers so as to not ask them to violate their sacred precepts and the government can, if it chooses, work to provide alternative means for women to access contraceptive services. This is especially relevant now because many institutions caring for the elderly most vulnerable to COVID-19 are faith-based.
Read More(OPINION) Expect an increase in agenda-driven messaging about religion’s role in the COVID-19 response and elsewhere in American public life. We should be aware of unbalanced narratives coming from the left and right, and journalists should take extra care in their approach to these issues.
Read MoreCatholic leaders — be it the pope, cardinals, bishops or even your local parish priest — don’t traditionally endorse candidates for political office. Here’s a look at why things may be changing as both the church and voters prepare for another U.S. presidential election.
Read More(OPINION) Restrictions by the Church of England and a “revolving” Body of Christ by a French Catholic priest are two responses to this crisis as clergy struggle to attend to the spiritual needs of their flocks.
Read MoreThis week’s “Weekend Plug-in” column highlights Pittsburgh Post-Gazette religion editor Peter Smith winning recognition as a Pulitzer Prize finalist — a year after he was a key part of a Pulitzer-winning entry for that same paper.
Read More(OPINION) With these words Martin Niemoller criticized our silence in the eyes of evil, silence that amounts to complicity in the crimes. These words are as relevant now as they were during War World II in the case of human rights violations in China.
Read More(OPINION) During the pandemic we should remember that what the media reports is a picture of the important and unusual things happening around us— not necessarily the everyday encouraging acts of goodness that are also a part of our reality during lockdown.
Read More(REVIEW) The WORLD Magazine Editor in Chief and author of 20 books writes that the Christian faith can and should use journalism to further its aims, but the only criterion of good journalism is a good story. Religious literacy simply gets you better stories, and Olasky never says this.
Read More(OPINION) The national conversation regarding religious freedom right now is largely focused on the question of public, in person gatherings for worship services. And yet, it is important to recognize that this is not the only element of the institutional religious freedom discussion that needs to be had at the moment. In the weeks to come, this column will take up in detail emerging public policies that impact the freedom of faith-based organizations.
Read More(OPINION) Nobody knows how long the COVID-19 crisis will last. Simply “waiting it out” is not an option for businesses, and it’s not am option for faith communities. In order to stay relevant in this time of uncertainty, churches need to exercise the same innovation seen in the marketplace.
Read MoreIn this week’s Weekend Plug-in, columnist Bobby Ross Jr. introduces the new president of the independent donor advocate MinistryWatch.com.
Read More(OPINION) Most states are on a timeline to reopen businesses and lift shelter-in-place guidelines. The issue has become largely partisan, but in conservative Christian circles there is some debate about the morality of how we balance the economy and public health.
Read More(OPINION) With approximately 30 million members, Muhammadiyah is Indonesia’s and the world’s largest modernist Muslim organization. While the Indonesian government has been slow to respond to COVID-19, Muhammadiyah has drawn on the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and the Quran to advise Muslims to stay home during Ramadan celebrations, including ritual obligations some may see as essential to their faith.
Read More(OPINION) The pandemic is adding stressors to an already stressed landscape of faith-based academic institutions. These schools will have to make hard choices about their futures, and that will require evaluating their core missions.
Read More(OPINION) The ever-evolving coronavirus pandemic has upended our world in ways no one could have ever expected. Journalists still don’t know where this story is going. One thing is clear. While death tolls climb and fall depending on which countries are effectively flattening the curve, the vast majority of those of us who are healthy and staying at home still have to deal with loneliness.
Read More(OPINION) The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) launched its annual report Tuesday, recommending India, Nigeria, Russia, Syria and Vietnam as “countries of particular concern” engaging in severe religious freedom violations.
Read MoreNot until the COVID-19 outbreak did I learn about the global influenza pandemic of 1918 — known colloquially as the Spanish flu — and my family’s connection to it.
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