Central African Republic in mourning again as another priest killed
World Watch Monitor The Catholic Church in the Central African Republic is again in shock after the killing of the vicar general of Bambari, in the centre of the country, on Friday night. Father Firmin Gbagoua, 52, was fatally wounded, when unidentified gunmen stormed the presbytery of St Joseph’s Cathedral of Bambari at around 7pm. […]
‘Mr Eternity’, Martin Luther bio and ‘Doubter’s Guide’ on Australian Christian Book of the Year shortlist
The story of Arthur Stace – Sydney’s Mr Eternity, a book on Martin Luther, a “Doubter’s Guide to Jesus” and a history of the Bible in Australia are among the 10 books short-listed for the 2018 SparkLit Australian Christian Book of the Year. The list includes Roy Williams & Elizabeth Meyers Mr Eternity: The Story of Arthur […]
STRANGESIGHTS: ANOTHER WORLD CUP; TWO BIG BILLS; AND, A DOG-JUMPING RECORD…
DAVID ADAMS reports on the odder side of life…
New manual to help humanitarian agencies adopt a “faith sensitive” approach
The Lutheran World Federation has joined with Islamic Relief Worldwide in publishing a new manual aimed at helping humanitarian agencies ensure they are using “faith sensitive” approaches in their work with displaced people and those communities hosting them. A Faith-Sensitive Approach in Humanitarian Response: Guidance on Mental Health and Psychosocial Programming, which is closely aligned […]
Foreign Christian students targeted by Russia’s security services
World Watch Monitor Foreign students of Pentecostal churches in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region have become a particular target for the authorities under the so-called “anti-missionary” law introduced two years ago, Forum 18 reports. The vague definition of “missionary activity” in the law, officially titled the Yarovaya Law after one of its authors, has meant that law enforcement authorities could understand “virtually […]
US: MULTI-RACIAL CHURCHES INCREASE AS BLACKS, WHITES LEARN TO WORSHIP TOGETHER
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, reports on the rising numbers of multi-racial churches in the US…
Lynchings fuelled by rumour hit anti-trafficking drives in India
Thomson Reuters Foundation The public lynchings of at least 10 people in India on false rumours of child kidnap has forced anti-trafficking charities to put their work on hold, fearing they could be targeted. Fake messages about child kidnappings spread on Facebook and WhatsApp have triggered attacks in more than half a dozen Indian states, […]
ESSAY: MEDIEVAL TIPS TO REVIVE ENGLAND’S STRUGGLING CATHEDRALS
In an article first published on The Conversation, ELIZABETH WIEDENHEFT, of the University of Nottingham, looks at how the upkeep of English cathedrals could benefit from medieval approaches…
POSTCARDS: WITH TOBACCO AND CANDY, NORTH AMERICA COUNTS ITS HOMELESS
GREGORY SCRUGGS, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Vancouver in Canada…
US Catholic bishops end border trip by suggesting alternative to family detention
RNS A group of prominent Catholic bishops concluded a two-day fact-finding visit to the US-Mexico border on Monday, capping an emotional trip that included ministering to migrant children at a detention center who are separated from their parents. But Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said […]