Church in US city of Birmingham planning virtual remembrance of ’63 bombing
AP Crowds gather every year at 16th Street Baptist Church to mark the anniversary of the horrific day when a bomb planted by Ku Klux Klansmen went off just before worship, killing four Black girls. This year’s 57th observance will be virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic. Al.com reported that the downtown church is asking people this […]
Pope urges respect for protestors in apparent Belarus reference; urges solidarity after Lesbos refugee camp fire
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis urged political leaders to listen to protesters and heed their calls for political and social change, an apparent reference to protests in Belarus against the country’s authoritarian President. Francis didn’t mention Belarus or any country in his appeal Sunday during his noontime prayer but his comments came as the Vatican foreign […]
Buffalo Catholic peace activist Martin Gugino back on his feet, determined to protest
RNS Three months after police shoved him to the ground during a protest over the death of George Floyd, Martin Gugino, the Catholic peace activist, has quietly moved back to his home in Buffalo, New York. The 75-year-old Gugino, who ended up in intensive care after he fractured his skull and suffered a brain injury, […]
Australian chocolate maker’s ban on green palm oil disappoints industry
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation A senior official at the palm oil industry’s main green label has urged an Australian confectionery giant to be “responsible” and work with ethical producers after it became the country’s first major supermarket brand to ditch the tropical oil as an ingredient. Darrell Lea, which has been making chocolate since […]
Search for clergy: How the Episcopal Church is trying to fill Alaska’s priest shortage with Natives
JULIA DUIN, writing for Religion Unplugged, reports on the Episcopal Church’s search for more Native clergy in remote Alaska…
Vatican urges return to in-person Mass as soon as possible
Vatican CityAP The Vatican said Saturday it was “necessary and urgent” to return to in-person Masses as soon as anti-coronavirus measures permit. The head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, Cardinal Robert Sarah, said in a letter to bishops conferences that virtual liturgies, while useful, were no replacement for the real thing. He said physical presence […]