Posts in Religion
U.S. Catholics split on Trump and church teachings

As Democrats running for president prepare for a Super Tuesday contest that could very well determine a nominee, support among some segment of American Catholics for President Donald Trump is growing. Overall, the poll found that U.S. Catholics remain sharply divided when it comes to both the president and church teachings.

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Did a prophet predict Rick Perry's future? The theology matters!

(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.

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Why Pope Francis ruled against married priests in the Amazon

(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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LDS leaders are poised for a major rollback of secrecy

(OPINION) For the first time, the authoritative Mormon rules guidebook will be available to the public. It will be a historic breakthrough.

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This veteran religion journalist likes to sing spirituals — but not when she's working

(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: veteran religion writer Adelle M. Banks reflects on her 25 years with Religion News Service.

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'Accept the Call' shows Somali father wrestling with his American son's radicalization

The 2019 documentary, now airing on PBS, follows a Somali father’s quest to understand why his American-born son tried to join ISIS in Syria.

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Pope Francis dampens progressive hopes by refusing to ordain married men in the Amazon

(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.

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The pilgrimage that inspired Ferrero Rocher chocolates

The chocolates resemble the pilgrimage site in Lourdes, France where St. Bernadette is believed to have first seen the Virgin Mary on this day 162 years ago.

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Election 2020 coverage needs to look at Catholics as being 'politically homeless'

(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.

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Britain’s most rampant rapist ignites homosexuality debate in Indonesia

(NEWS ANALYSIS) The conviction in the UK of a gay serial rapist from Indonesia is fueling debates in the Muslim-majority country of whether rape is a symptom of homosexuality. While homosexuality is not a crime in Indonesia, the largest Muslim organizations have been advocating to criminalize gay sexual activities.

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Kashmir’s Internet blocked for six months and counting

An Internet ban in Kashmir is causing job losses and hardships for students, journalists and everyday people living isolated from the rest of the country and the world. Government-provided computer terminals can only be accessed after traveling and hours of waiting in line, and all activities online are monitored.

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A journalist's faith: New memoir tells how justice prevailed in civil rights era murders

(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.)

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The Bronx high school students marching for 'the born and the unborn'

A group of high school students from the Bronx represented a version of pro-life philosophy that takes the term beyond abortion and leftward on the political spectrum.

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Africa’s Young Christians Face Danger from Islamic Extremism

(OPINION) An ongoing Islamic extremist project to exterminate Christians in sub-Saharan Africa is even more brutal and more consequential for the Church than it is in the Middle East. Is anyone paying attention?

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Ignoring Kobe Bryant's Catholic faith results in incomplete look at his life

(OPINION) All but forgotten — as well as underreported by the news media since Sunday’s tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., that killed Bryant, his daughter and seven others — was his Catholic faith and how getting closer to it made him a better person.

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'Holy Silence' tries to get into the mind of Pope Pius XII during World War II

(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.

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Frank Schaeffer is angry about abortion and evangelicals, and he's getting louder

The pro-life movement’s “traitorous prince’” is frustrated by his progressive comrades and fed up with his former cohorts on the religious right.

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How the SBC sex abuse scandal turned a city hall reporter into a full-time religion writer

(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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Examining Rudy Giuliani's complicated Catholicism

(OPINION) President Donald Trump’s impeachment is underway in the U.S. Senate, something that has dominated news coverage in recent days and will continue to do so. While Trump is at the center of the Senate trial, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is a key figure in all of this as well.

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