(ANALYSIS) The Catholic Church recently lost a giant. The recent death of Cardinal George Pell at age of 81 was the literal loss of a giant — he stood at a towering 6 feet, 6 inches. But he was also a man who attracted both controversy and consternation. Now his final words regarding what he thought about Pope Francis and the direction of the church have come into fuller view since his death.
Read More(OPINION) By coincidence, both party leaders in the U.S. House are now Baptists, a faith that outside the South has generally been underrepresented among the political elite. Catholics — think Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, Paul Ryan — monopolized the speaker and minority leader posts for much of the 21st century.
Read More(OPINION) We’d prefer saints come wrapped in pure polished gold (or at least carved from alabaster), ready for mounting on a church shelf or a plinth in a public square. Sadly for us — and for our religious and civic saints, too — nobody, not even the greatest among us, navigates life on Earth without amassing dings, tarnish and cracks.
Read MoreIn Sikhism, a religion which originated in India about 500 years ago, unhealthy attachment is considered one of the five biggest sins. Therefore, alcoholism and drug addiction are discouraged. Despite this, the northern Indian state of Punjab, home to 16 million Sikhs, has struggled with substance abuse for decades.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the state of the anti-abortion movement 50 years after Roe v. Wade — and seven months after Roe’s overturning. Plus, as always, catch up on all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read MoreThe Confessing Movement, a lay-led conservative Christian movement that pushed back against the influence of liberalism and progressivism in the United Methodist Church, has shut down in reaction to the recent launch of a new conservative Methodist denomination.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Ambrogio A. Caiani, in his book “To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII,” tells the story of how Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII tussled over church versus state superiority and eventually ironed out a foundation of religious freedom whose effects Europe still enjoys today.
Read More(OPINION) After the Christmas season and before Lent, Orthodox priests have — for centuries — rushed to visit church members’ homes to bless them with prayers and splashes of holy water flung about with a foot-long brush or handfuls of basil.
Read MoreA pro-life pregnancy center firebombed last June in Buffalo, New York, has decided to conduct its own investigation into the violence. CompassCare, a ministry to women in crisis pregnancies that has been operating since 1980, incurred over $500,000 in damage to its facility due to the violence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The notion that fitness is a religion — a place where people find community, ritual and ecstatic experience — has become a common refrain. Can fitness really be a religion? Given the difficulty of defining religion, it’s an almost impossible question to answer.
Read MoreUganda’s Prophet Elvis Mbonye is worth an estimated $115 million. He’s one of the country’s most talked about prophets amid claims that a variety of his predictions have come true, from the restoration of broken laptops to the election of U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016 and Brexit.
Read More(OPINION) Sin and guilt remind us eros didn’t die, but it’s disfigured. It’s not ruined as Nietzsche claimed. Eros can be redeemed as it’s both/and — a virtue since God created it while a vice since we corrupted it. Human desires, including eros, are inherently very good.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Israel’s new government is the most right-wing and religious leadership the country has had in the 75 years of its existence, as many observers have pointed out. And this style of leadership may last because it represents the next generation of Israelis.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Though Pentecostals are diverse, all share an emphasis on the Holy Spirit, or God’s presence in their lives. Yet this also leads to disagreement within the movement about what they believe the Holy Spirit empowers them to do in the real world, especially in activism and politics.
Read MoreRick Warren’s 2002 book “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold more than 50-million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. But his work as a pastor and author are just the beginning. Warren Cole Smith had this conversation with Rick Warren at his office in southern California.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Stellar attractions slated to open in 2025 promise to jump-start tourism in Jerusalem afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unresolved is how the masses of visitors and pilgrims will reach them.
Read MoreFive women in California have filed a lawsuit alleging that the International Churches of Christ perpetrated a “systemic scheme of abuse” that included the sexual abuse of children as young as three years old and financial abuse of its members.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights a new report on rising antisemitism in the U.S. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) In a rite before the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Vatican officials placed unique symbols of his pontificate inside his cypress casket, along with a scroll in Latin describing his ascent to the Chair of St. Peter. Old tensions surfaced during Pope Benedict’s funeral and the events — or the lack thereof — surrounding it.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of my five things to watch for in 2023 included media speculation over Pope Francis’ health and speculation over his possible retirement. Within three days of that post — and prompted by the death on Dec. 31 of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the age of 95 — speculation increased once again.
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