Mammoth statue of Jesus planned for Russian site once set aside for Lenin
Moscow, RussiaRNS Authorities in Vladivostok, the largest city in far eastern Russia, are planning to erect a gigantic statue of Jesus Christ on a site once designated for a monument of Vladimir Lenin. The statue, which has not yet been approved by the Russian Orthodox Church, is to be 38 metres high – the same […]
Venezuelan child migrants, women fall prey to human traffickers in Peru
Bogata, ColombiaThomson Reuters Foundation Migrant children fleeing alone from Venezuela’s economic and political crises, along with destitute Venezuelan migrants arriving without documents both make easy prey for human traffickers in Peru, anti-slavery experts said on Tuesday. About one in 10 Venezuelans – 3.4 million people – have fled their homeland in recent years. After Colombia, […]
STRANGESIGHTS: WHEN READING THE FINE PRINT BRINGS A REWARD; WALES OWES ENGLAND SOME LAND?; AND, TELEGRAM FINALLY ARRIVES – 50 YEARS LATE
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
MUSIC: CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP WITH A HEART FOR DISCIPLESHIP
MARCUS CHEONG reviews The Cashmans’ latest album, ‘City of God’…
Australian Christian leaders among more than 50 public figures calling for increase to country’s foreign aid budget
Prominent Australian Christian leaders are among more than 50 public figures who are calling for a bipartisan political commitment to rebuild the country’s foreign aid budget ahead of this year’s federal election. Five years of cuts under Australia’s Coalition Government will see the country’s foreign aid budget drop to just .2 per cent of gross […]
Air pollution killing more people than smoking, say scientists
Thomson Reuters Foundation Air pollution is killing more people every year than smoking, according to research published on Tuesday that called for urgent action to stop burning fossil fuels. Researchers in Germany and Cyprus estimated that air pollution caused 8.8 million extra deaths in 2015 – almost double the previously estimated 4.5 million. The World […]
Faith groups in the US maintain widespread support for LGBT protection laws – survey
RNS A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute finds that strong majorities within all religious groups, including white evangelicals and Jehovah’s Witnesses, show sustained support for LGBT non-discrimination policies. The newly released data from PRRI’s 2018 American Values Atlas, an annual survey of more than 40,000 Americans, showed that 69 per cent of all […]
US POLITICS: SHOULD TRUMP WORRY ABOUT WHITE CATHOLIC AND MAINLINE PROTESTANT VOTES?
JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, looks at what pollsters and political experts are saying about white Christian voters in the 2020 US election…
ESSAY: WHAT LESSONS CAN THE CLERGY SEX ABUSE CRISIS DRAW FROM A 4TH CENTURY CHURCH SCHISM?
In an article first published on The Conversation, CAVAN W CONCANNON, associate professor of religion at the University of Southern California, looks at lessons for the church today from a 4th century rupture…
Australian Catholic cardinal George Pell sentenced to six years imprisonment for child sexual abuse
Australian Catholic cardinal George Pell has been sentenced to six years imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years and eight months, becoming the most senior Catholic official in the world to be formally jailed for child sexual abuse. Pell, 77, was last year found guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in St Patrick’s […]