US Catholic bishops meet; leaders call for unity and peace amid internal strife and global conflict
Baltimore, US AP Catholic leaders called for peace in a war-torn world and unity amid strife within their own clerical ranks on Tuesday, as US bishops gathered in Baltimore for their annual fall meeting. The meeting came soon after two actions by Pope Francis that illustrated the divisive challenges facing the Catholic Church – removing […]
Baltimore mass shooting leaves two dead, several children among 28 injured
Reuters Two people were killed and 28 others were injured, including an estimated 14 children, in a mass shooting in Baltimore, Maryland, early Sunday morning after a neighbourhood party, police said. An 18-year-old woman and 20-year-old man were killed and nine people were still hospitalised with gunfire wounds Sunday afternoon, including a few in critical […]
Conversations: John Blake, journalist on religion and race, goes personal with new memoir
“We really need to tell these stories about hope. There’s a lot of Americans now who have given up…and believe racism is just a permanent part of American life.” ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, speaks with Blake…
Urban revitalisation: Can crowdfunded property turn rundown neighbourhoods around?
CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how the idea of harnessing small-scale investors for real estate development – boosted by digital platforms – is gaining momentum nationally…
Wow!: US cities swap dead trees for new in circular economy for forests
CAREY L BIRON, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how US cities are working to mitigate the loss of urban trees…
In the US, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland gives $US175,000 in reparations grants
RNS The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in the US has made an inaugural grant distribution of $US175,000 after church members overwhelmingly approved a reparations fund a year-and-a-half ago. “The applicant pool was large and filled with worthy organisations doing the work of restoring Black communities in the geographical area of the Diocese of Maryland,” said […]
US Catholic bishops stop short of mandating lay involvement in abuse investigations
Baltimore, US RNS The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has passed a slate of long-awaited measures designed to combat sex abuse and hold church leadership accountable for mishandling cases, including creating a national hotline operated by an outside group for reporting incidents of abuse or their cover-up. “I’m confident that the idea of doing [investigations] […]
In the US, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins on why Christians must reconcile with science
RNS On top of his duties as the director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins takes time to answer letters from Christians trying to reconcile their faith with science. At a conference last week of BioLogos, the nonprofit he founded more than 10 years ago to bridge science and faith, Collins told an audience […]
US Catholic bishops head for global meeting on sex abuse anxious for progress
RNS There was a lot of talk but not a lot of action. When American clerics at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops began their annual fall gathering in Baltimore on Monday, they were eager to take bold, decisive steps to address what many see as the biggest issue facing the church in years: the […]
Vatican instructs US bishops to halt voting on sex abuse measures
RNS Observers are calling this week’s US Conference of Catholic Bishops assembly a high-stakes opportunity for the bishops to address their role in the ongoing child sex abuse crisis that has rocked the church this year. But USCCB president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo opened the event on Monday by declaring that the Vatican had issued a […]