In Kenya, a pastor’s refusal to marry an HIV-positive bride stirs debate over AIDS stigma
RNS A Pentecostal pastor in the western Kenyan town of Bahati triggered outrage over the past week by refusing to marry a young couple until they complied with his demand that they be tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. On 3rd November, Pastor Jesse Karanja, the leader of Mizpah House of Prayer Church, […]
Nigeriens call for American aid worker’s release, two years after his abduction
World Watch Monitor On the second anniversary of the disappearance of the American Christian aid worker Jeff Woodke from his home in Abalak, northern Niger, community leaders have called on Niger’s president to secure his release. Woodke, 57, who worked for Jeunesse en Mission Entraide et Developpement, was abducted by unknown assailants late in the evening of […]
BOOKS: HUGH MACKAY POINTS TO SOME “BOLD” DIRECTIONS FOR CHANGE IN AUSTRALIA
DARREN CRONSHAW reads Australian social researcher Hugh Mackay’s insightful take on Australia’s problems – and some alternative approaches to them…
US students cite faith as they kneel during national anthem to protest racism
RNS Dozens of students at the University of Notre Dame took a knee during the playing of the national anthem at the Catholic school’s football game in South Bend, Indiana, this weekend, saying their faith compels them to protest racism. As The Star-Spangled Banner blared before Notre Dame’s last home game of the season on […]
Finance for electricity access too little, too dirty – energy body
Thomson Reuters Foundation Finance to provide electric power to nearly one billion people who live without it is rising – but too slowly to meet a global goal to reach everyone by 2030, an international body said on Monday. Meanwhile, funding to expand cleaner, more energy-efficient cooking has declined, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) said […]
“Complex labyrinth of ‘legal’ restrictions” for religious communities in Azerbaijan
World Watch Monitor Azerbaijan’s government continues to claim its “tolerance” but restrictions of freedom of religion and belief, censorship of religious literature and jail sentences for prisoners of conscience are ongoing, Forum 18 reports. According to Forum 18’s recent survey, the exercise of freedom of religion and belief in the country is impinged by “a complex […]
PERFECT LEADER?
During my degree, our economics lecturer challenged us to name the best economic system. Follow the leader – but which one? PICTURE: Jehyun Sung/Unsplash. I was surprised when he said, on paper, the communist system was the best! Equality. Fairness. Unselfishness. There was one flaw. Communism only works when its leader is perfect; above self-interest […]
US CATHOLICS: HOW THE ‘GREAT WAR’ WAS CONNECTED TO THE CREATION OF AMERICA’S CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
MICHAEL MCKINLEY, writing for Religion News Service, takes a look at the connections between World War I and the creation of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops…
Last two kidnapped boys released in Cameroon
The last two schoolboys of the 79 kidnapped from a school in west Cameroon still being held by their captors were released on Monday along with the school’s principal and a staff member, according to reports. The BBC reports that the final four hostages were dropped off at a town about 24 kilometres from their […]