Conversations: Eliza Griswold, author of ‘Circle of Hope’, a portrait of an American church riven by discord
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, speaks with Eliza Griswold about Circle of Hope’ which focuses on a Philadelphia church struggling for survival amid financial strain, external crises and theological, political and personal clashes.
The Explainer: What is Juneteenth and how are people marking the day?
Celebrated on 19th June, RICH MACKAY of Reuters, takes a look at a holiday marking the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans…
Criminal justice: Four years after George Floyd killing, police reform in US slow to follow
BIANCA FLOWERS and STEPHANIE KELLY, of Reuters, report that federal attempts at wide-ranging reform have been mostly unsuccessful…
The Interview: Michele Clark Jenkins and Stephanie Perry Moore, co-editors of the Breathe Life Bible
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, reports that after the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white police officer, the co-editors of the new Bible say they felt compelled to do something…
Swiss court acquits police officers over Black man’s death, sparking anger
Lausanne, Switzerland Reuters A Swiss court on Thursday acquitted six white police officers of charges of negligent homicide in the death of a Black man who suffered a fatal heart attack after he was held down in the street during an arrest. The case has raised questions about structural racism in Switzerland and the prosecution […]
Three years after George Floyd’s death, US faith groups quietly advance racial healing
United States RNS Three years after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis brought crowds into the streets for a summer of protests, Christian groups are quietly launching initiatives that address the still-fraught racial divisions among their members and in the wider society. In New Orleans next week, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, which […]
Second ‘George Floyd’ Pietà stolen from Catholic University
Washington DC, US RNS A second painting of Jesus and His mother, Mary, in which Jesus is widely thought to be depicted as George Floyd, has been stolen from the walls of the Catholic University of America’s law school. The painting, which sits outside the chapel at CUA’s Columbus Law School, replaced an identical, larger […]
‘George Floyd’ pieta stolen from Catholic university after artist receives death threats
RNS A painting of Jesus and his mother, Mary, in which Jesus is seen by many to be painted in the likeness of George Floyd in response to his agonising death, was stolen from Catholic University of America Columbus Law School this week after a spate of conservative media attention and death threats directed at […]
Top US Catholic bishop calls social justice movements “pseudo-religion”
RNS Archbishop José H Gomez, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, railed against “new social justice movements” during a speech Thursday, decrying them as “pseudo-religions” that ultimately serve as “dangerous substitutes for true religion”. Gomez, who heads the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, delivered the remarks in a video message sent to a meeting of […]
“Stop denying racism, start dismantling it”, UN rights chief says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Nations should “start dismantling racism”, set up reparations programmes and prosecute law enforcement officials for unlawful killings of people of African descent, the UN human rights chief said on Monday. Michelle Bachelet, in a global report sparked by the murder of African American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in […]