G20 leaders pledge to fund fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines – draft statement
Washington DC, US Reuters Leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies on Sunday will pledge to pay for a fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests around the world so that poorer countries are not left out, and to extend debt relief to them, a draft G20 communique showed. “We will spare no effort […]
As hurricanes belt Honduras, Christian aid group fights not just water but corruption
RNS Two Category 4 hurricanes have hit Central America, coming ashore within 15 miles and 13 days of each other in Nicaragua and killing several across the region, according to ABC News. In Honduras, flash floods, ruined crops and power outages have affected an estimated three million people. Men wade through a street flooded after the passing […]
Vatican investigates papal “like” of barely-clad Brazilian
Rome, ItalyAP The Vatican is investigating how Pope Francis’ official Instagram account “liked” a photo of a scantily-clad Brazilian model. A Vatican official said Friday the “like” didn’t originate from the Holy See, and as such, the Vatican was working “in close connection” with Instagram to get to the bottom of who liked the photo. […]
Adam Taylor succeeds Jim Wallis as Sojourners president
RNS Rev Adam Taylor has been named the new president of Sojourners, the national Christian social justice advocacy organisation founded and led by Rev Jim Wallis since the 1970s. Wallis will continue working with Sojourners through to July, 2021, when he will join the faculty of Georgetown University as director of a new centre focused […]
Stay home, evangelical medical organisation tells US churches as COVID spreads
RNS For months, the leaders of the US Christian Medical and Dental Associations have urged churches to social distance, wear masks and do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, says the association of 20,000 evangelical health care professionals, those guidelines have often gone unheeded. City Light Church pastor Jason Rollin, centre, speaks […]
Christmas in year of COVID: Chicago church releases a beer for Advent — and the end of the world
EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, on how one US church is marking advent in an unusual way in what has been an unusual year…
Don’t use Gilead’s remdesivir in hospitalised COVID-19 patients, WHO says
London, UK Reuters Gilead’s remdesivir should not be used for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence the drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organization panel said on Friday. “The…panel found a lack of evidence that remdesivir improved outcomes that matter […]
Alleging sex abuse, four sue Vatican over handling of McCarrick
New York City, US AP Four accusers of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have filed a lawsuit against the Vatican, arguing it should be held liable for allowing the now-disgraced cleric to serve in multiple positions in New York and New Jersey when it knew of numerous allegations of sexual abuse against him. The lawsuit was […]