Addressing need: In the US city of Chicago, pastors help the city grapple with flood of migrants
“There’s already plenty of need present in this community,” said one faith leader. The challenge is to make the situation work for both longtime residents and migrants arriving from the border. REBEKAH BARBER, of Religion News Service, reports…
Chicago homeless migrants shelter faces backlash
Chicago, US Reuters Chicago is grappling with local backlash against moving homeless migrants into a new government-run tent encampment as temperatures drop and more migrants continue to arrive. Hundreds of migrants are still sleeping on floors or in tents outside city police stations. Some who remained this week huddled near tents wearing parkas, knit hats […]
Parliament of the World’s Religions hopes to harness faith to address world’s ills
Chicago, US RNS Thousands of religious leaders – from Buddhists to Zoroastrians – gathered at Chicago’s cavernous McCormick Place conference centre on Monday for the opening day of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, a historic and influential gathering. Leaders from a wide range of faiths urged attendees to appreciate both the uniqueness of their […]
Scorching heat wave bakes US as heat index soars past 38 degrees; Greece wildfires die down
Chicago, US Reuters Tens of millions of Americans were confronted with a one-two punch of brutally hot temperatures and oppressive humidity on Friday as an unrelenting heat wave settled over the midwest and East Coast and was expected to persist into the weekend. More than 175 million people in the US were under excessive heat […]
Emmett Till memorialised in monument that includes Chicago church
United States RNS For Rev Wheeler Parker, Jr, it was the moment he had long awaited and once could not have envisioned. The older cousin of Emmett Till, Parker is the sole remaining witness to the 1955 kidnapping of the Black teenager, who was dragged from his bed to face a lynching that galvanised the […]
Catholic clergy sexually abused Illinois kids far more often than church acknowledged, US state finds
Chicago, Illinois, US AP More than 450 Catholic clergy in the US state of Illinois sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950, the state’s Attorney General found in an investigation released Tuesday, revealing that the problem was far worse than the church had let on. Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference that investigators found […]
In the US, James MacDonald, former Harvest Bible pastor, charged with felony assault and battery
United States RNS Former Chicago area megachurch pastor James MacDonald has been charged with two felonies for allegedly assaulting a woman during a dispute over parking. MacDonald, who was fired from Harvest Bible Chapel in 2019 and later disqualified from ministry for what church leaders called a “substantial pattern of sinful behaviour”, was arrested in Coronado, California, on 22nd […]
Lifestory: Loyola’s Sister Jean captured hearts during March Madness. Now she’s written a book.
At 103, Chicago’s beloved Catholic sister, best known simply as ‘Sister Jean,’ has added publishing a memoir to her list of achievements. She speaks with EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service…
Postcards: Chicago pastor James Meeks bids a tearful farewell after 38 years at Salem Baptist
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Catholic Church officials clear Chicago priest Pfleger of abuse claim
Chicago, US AP A prominent Roman Catholic priest known for his activism has been reinstated as leader of his Chicago parish after being cleared by church officials of allegations that he sexually abused a minor decades ago. The Chicago Archdiocese released a letter Saturday saying that a review board found “no reason to suspect” that Rev Michael Pfleger was […]