Postcards: Attack, then pandemic – Pittsburgh Jewish congregations cope
Two years after 11 worshippers were killed when an anti-Semitic gunman opened fire at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, DAVID CRARY, of the Associated Press, reports on how the three congregations which shared that space have fared…
Episcopal bishop to resign over same-sex marriage stance
Albany, New York, USAP The Episcopal bishop of Albany, New York, agreed to resign after a disciplinary panel found that he violated church rules by ordering clergy in the diocese not to perform same-sex marriages. The Right Reverend William H “Bill” Love will leave his position on 1st February after starting a sabbatical a month […]
Pope names 13 new cardinals, including first Black US prelate
Vatican City AP Pope Francis on Sunday named 13 new cardinals, including Washington, DC, Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who would become the first Black US prelate to earn the coveted red hat. In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St Peter’s Square, Francis said the churchmen would be elevated to […]
Polish women enter churches to protest abortion restriction
Warsaw, PolandAP Women’s rights activists furious over a tightening of Poland’s already restrictive abortion law staged protests outside and inside churches on Sunday, disrupting Masses and finding themselves confronted with accusations of “barbaric” behaviour. At the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw, a group of far-right nationalists blocked stairs leading to the entrance. When one woman […]
France says stop boycott calls; Erdogan ups Macron insults
Paris, FranceAP French authorities denounced Turkish “propaganda” against France that they said was aimed at fanning hate at home and abroad, and asked Sunday that calls to boycott French products cease immediately, saying such attacks were the work of a “radical minority”. Meanwhile, the President of Turkey took a second insulting swipe at French President […]
IOC chief Bach says Olympic Games cannot be “marketplace of demonstrations”
Reuters International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the Olympic Games are not about politics and must guard against becoming a “marketplace of demonstrations”. Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement to protest racial injustice, calls have increased this year for a change to Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which bans any […]
Climate change seen endangering lives of Canada’s remote Indigenous people
Toronto, CanadaThomson Reuters Foundation A lack of action on climate change by Canada’s government is endangering Indigenous people in the far north, putting them at risk of food shortages and dangerously poor nutrition, a leading human rights group said last week. Climate change’s impacts like habitat loss and extreme weather are depleting First Nations’ traditional […]
Pope and Spain’s Prime Minister visit maskless at Vatican
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis met with the Spanish Prime Minister Saturday at the Vatican, which has had a rash of COVID-19 infections confirmed in recent days, but neither man used a facemask during the public part of their meeting. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wore a mask when he arrived in a Vatican courtyard. But everyone […]
The Long Read: Long after murders, Black voting is still troubled in Mississippi
With the US election looming, TIM SULLIVAN, of the Associated Press, reports on how, six decades on from the tumultuous 1960s, Black voters in the US state of Mississippi still face obstacles to voting…