Sight-Seeing: Your dread of the 2020 (US) election and coronavirus will end. What will you obsess about then?
US commentator CHARLES C CAMOSY, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says now is the time for “doing deliberate, counter-cultural work in our own lives to contribute to the creation of a culture of encounter and hospitality”…
1,000 plus US faith leaders call for ‘free and fair election’
Washington DC, US AP More than 1,000 clergy members, religious scholars and other faith-based advocates have signed onto a unique statement that supports a comprehensive path to “a free and fair election” and urges leaders to heed the verdict of “legitimate election results” regardless of who wins in November. Signatories of the statement, shared in advance with […]
With rising COVID-19 cases inside the Vatican, pressure mounts for Francis to don a mask
Vatican City RNS While the Vatican’s COVID-19 commission attempts to tangibly address the consequences of the pandemic, it struggled to explain Tuesday why its boss, Pope Francis, is so often seen without a mask. “We are trying to convince him” to wear a mask, said Rev Augusto Zampini, adjunct secretary of the Vatican Department for […]
Poland’s leader wants churches defended, condemns protests
Warsaw, Poland AP Poland’s powerful ruling party leader urged his supporters Tuesday to defend the predominantly Catholic nation’s churches, potentially setting the stage for clashes with demonstrators angry at a court ruling that severely restricts abortions. The call Tuesday by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a conservative, drew strong condemnation from the main opposition head who accused him […]
Keeping girls in school seen worth billions to developing nations
London, UK Thomson Reuters Foundation Making sure all girls are finishing secondary education by 2030 could boost the gross domestic product of developing countries by 10 per cent on average over the next decade, a report said on Tuesday. Every $1 spent on girls’ rights and education would generate a $2.80 return – equivalent to […]
More than 30 killed in bombings in Brussels
More than 30 people have been killed and scores more injured after explosions rocked the main airport and a metro station in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Tuesday. The small European country has raised its terror threat to the highest level with the Prime Minister, Charles Michel, calling the attacks “blind, violent, cowardly” and […]
Death toll rises from Afghanistan earthquake
The death toll from Monday’s earthquake in Afghanistan has risen to more than 340 with more than 1,800 injured. The majority of the deaths reported to date – more than 200 – are located across the border in Pakistan but more than 100 deaths have also been recorded in Afghanistan and at least one in […]
Bomb at religious school in Pakistan kills eight students, wounds 136
Peshawar, Pakistan AP A powerful bomb blast ripped through an Islamic seminary on the outskirts of the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday morning, killing at least eight students and wounding 136 others, police and a hospital spokesman said. The bombing happened as a prominent religious scholar during a special class was delivering a […]
Church leaders condemn weekend attack on school on Cameroon
The World Council of Churches has condemned an attack on a school in Cameroon late last week in which at least seven children were killed and a dozen more injured. Gunmen on motorbikes attacked the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in Kumba in the country’s troubled Anglophone South West Region on Saturday. Rev Prof Dr Ioan […]
Africa’s miners face new TB threat as pandemic disrupts treatment
Ermelo, South Africa Thomson Reuters Foundation Vama Jele’s heart dropped every time he heard that another migrant miner home from South Africa had died from tuberculosis due to skipping treatment under lockdown. In just four months, it happened 60 times. When COVID-19 shut South Africa’s mines, workers from Jele’s homeland eSwatini and other neighbouring nations […]