Failure to educate girls could cost world $US30 trillion a year – report
Thomson Reuters Foundation Failing to let girls finish their education could cost the world as much as $US30 trillion in lost earnings and productivity annually, yet more than 130 million girls are out of school globally, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Women who have completed secondary education are more likely to work and earn […]
UN Secretary-General expresses “deep concern” over attack on Nicaraguan Catholic bishops
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has expressed “deep concern” over ongoing violence in Nicaragua including attacks against Catholic Church mediators. In a statement this week, a spokesperson for Mr Guterres said the secretary-general recognised “the important mediation role of the Nicaraguan Catholic Bishops Conference” and urged all parties to “respect the role of the mediators, to […]
Know It All: The College of Cardinals
Last month, Pope Francis created 14 new cardinals. But what exactly is a cardinal?
Essay: A letter to the Christian churches of Australia concerning marriage
BRUCE C WEARNE reflects on the new ‘monitum’ introduced following last year’s changes to Australia’s Marriage Act…
UK public trusts charities less than average person in the street
Thomson Reuters Foundation The British public places less trust in charities than in the average person in the street, regulators said on Tuesday, following a year in which sex abuse scandals rocked the sector. Nearly half the respondents in a survey said their trust in charities had fallen, compared to a third in 2016 and […]
Thai cave rescue draws attention to country’s “stateless” children
Thomson Reuters Foundation The rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded Thai cave, which gripped the country and the world, has also drawn attention to the plight of “stateless” children in the country. At least three of the boys, as well as their coach, are refugees. Like tens of thousands of others […]
US POLITICS: WHY WHITE EVANGELICALS VOTED FOR TRUMP
In a short interview first published on Religion News Service, JANA RIESS speaks to historian John Fea about his new book, ‘Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump’…
Copts attacked in Egypt after Facebook post showing ‘contempt of Islam’
An attack by a Muslim mob on Copts in a village in the Egyptian governorate of Minya on Monday has left the Coptic community holed up in their houses, while security forces patrol the streets. A local source told World Watch Monitor the situation is still very tense in the village of Menbal, 225 kilometres […]
Essay: Catholic-heavy Supreme Court moves right as the church moves left
US religion commentator JACOB LUPFER, in an article first published on Religion News Service, reflects on the latest nomination to the US Supreme Court…
After shuttering 700 churches, Rwanda proposes stricter clergy guidelines
RNS After closing more than 700 churches and some mosques in March, Rwandan government officials have moved to institute guidelines for how faith groups operate in the majority-Christian East African country. Rwanda’s minister in the office of the president has brought to Parliament a draft law that would require Christian and Muslim clerics to attain university education […]