SAINTS OF PAST AGES: ELIZABETH SETON
In an article first published on The Conversation, CATHERINE O’DONNELL, associate professor of history at Arizona State University in the US, looks at the life of American Elizabeth Seton and how her legacy continues to inspire work with immigrants today…
Does God care if you smoke weed? In the US, many Bay State faith groups say yeah, man
RNS Since the US east coast’s first recreational marijuana shops opened in Massachusetts this past fall, pot fans have snapped up more than $US20 million worth of legal weed. But for many people of faith in the Bay State, legalisation hasn’t burned away the moral and health concerns about the use of drugs for fun. […]
Climate stress drove wave of Arab Spring refugees – researchers
Thomson Reuters Foundation Severe droughts made more likely by global warming worsened conflict in Arab Spring countries early this decade, forcing people to flee, researchers said on Wednesday, publishing evidence they said proved the connection for the first time. The study used data from asylum applications in 157 countries from 2006-2015, together with an index that […]
After Dusit attack, Kenya’s clergy urge all faiths to account for their youths
RNS When pastors and priests in this Nairobi suburb preach to their flocks, violent extremism is rarely a topic. A coffee-growing area turned bedroom community, Muchatha is populated by a wide variety of traders, farmers, artisans and city workers who worship side by side on Sundays in the Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Anglican and some […]
STRANGESIGHTS: TOTO SING ‘AFRICA’ FOR ETERNITY; MOOSE JAW LOOKS TO TAKE BACK TITLE; AND, SPACE MINERAL FOUND ON EARTH…
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
Can panic alarms save women in Mexico City?
Thomson Reuters Foundation Victims of domestic abuse in Mexico City will be given panic alarms as part of government efforts to combat growing rates of violence against women in a country where on average more than seven women are killed by men every day. Authorities aim to hand out key rings with a global positioning […]
To meet climate goals, world urged to reuse natural resources
Thomson Reuters Foundation More of the billions of tonnes of materials the world uses each year must be recycled and reused to keep climate change in check, researchers said on Tuesday. Only about a tenth of the nearly 93 billion tonnes of materials utilised annually – including minerals, metals, fossil fuels and biomass – are […]
THE INTERVIEW: MARK DEMOSS, CHRISTIAN PR EXECUTIVE
Influential US Christian PR executive Mark DeMoss announced he was closing his business last week. ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, caught up with him…
Pakistani Christian acquitted of blasphemy
A Pakistani Christian man accused of blasphemy has been acquitted, Agenzia Fides reports. Pervaiz Masih, who had been released on bail, was accused of blasphemy on 1st September, 2015, and was acquitted on 15th January this year following his trial, a representative of The Voice Society, an organisation which provides legal and social assistance to […]
ESSAY: 100 YEARS LATER, WHY DON’T WE COMMEMORATE THE VICTIMS AND HEROES OF THE SPANISH FLU?
In an article first published on The Conversation, the University of Sydney’s PETER HOBBINS says it’s time we commemorated how the Australian community came together to fight the Spanish flu…