Catholic bishops rebuke Trump’s asylum changes, suggest ‘canonical penalties’
RNS The US Conference of Catholic Bishops opened its spring meeting this week with a stern reproach of the Trump administration’s latest immigration policies, with the group’s president suggesting the new rules on asylum are a “right to life” issue. Some bishops followed by urging protests, including “canonical penalties” for those who carry out the […]
Moroccan Christians demand equal marriage rights
World Watch Monitor A Moroccan couple who converted to Christianity and recently married, ignoring threats from people in their conservative hometown, have demanded legal recognition of their union, Reuters reports. The Maghreb nation, which is 99 per cent Muslim, is officially an Islamic state – King Mohammed VI holds the title of ‘Prince of the believers’ […]
BOOKS: IT’S JESUS, BUT PERHAPS NOT AS WE VISUALISE HIM
DAVID ADAMS reads Joan E Taylor’s book on what the historical Jesus may have looked like…
Conflicts and climate disasters forcing children into work, says UN
Thomson Reuters Foundation Years of conflict and climate disasters have pushed millions of children into work, the United Nations said on Tuesday. In 2017, there were 152 million children under the age of 18 working around the world, the International Labour Organization said in a report marking World Day Against Child Labour. The vast majority […]
Three thousand-year-old head found in northern Israel may be that of a Biblical king
PICTURE: Gaby Laron/The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A small glazed ceramic head unearthed in an archaeological dig in northern Israel may be that of a Biblical king, according to the lead archaeologist involved in the excavation. The head – which recently went on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem – was found during a […]
CATHOLIC CHURCH: VATICAN STALLS GERMAN BISHOPS’ PLAN TO GIVE PROTESTANTS COMMUNION
CHRISTOPHER LAMB reports for Religion News Service…
Australian PM to deliver a national apology to child sexual abuse victims
Australia’s Federal Government will deliver a formal apology to survivors, victims and families of institutional child sexual abuse in October and create a National Office for Child Safety, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced. The move was among the government’s formal response to the recommendations contained in the final report of the Royal Commission into […]
UN rapporteur welcomes Uzbekistan’s religious freedom pledge
World Watch Monitor The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief has welcomed Uzbekistan’s pledge to implement the recommendations he made in the wake of a visit there in October last year. Uzbekistan has promised to implement 12 recommendations made by Ahmed Shaheed, and has given a timeline for each one, as well as supposed […]
POSTCARDS: ONE YEAR LATER, BRITAIN REMEMBERS 72 KILLED IN FIRE AND FAITH GROUPS’ RESPONSE
CATHERINE PEPINSTER, of Religion News Service, reports from London…
Nigeria thwarts World Cup child trafficking plot at airport
Thomson Reuters Foundation Ten Nigerian children have been rescued from human traffickers planning to fly them to Russia and exploit relaxed visa controls for the World Cup, anti-trafficking officials said on Tuesday. Five suspects, including a policeman and a quarantine officer, were arrested at Lagos’ main airport for allegedly recruiting the victims – nine girls […]