The Interview: Bishop Vashti McKenzie, president of the US National Council of Churches
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, speaks with BIshop Vashti McKenzie about why she’s continuing with the ecumenical group, how she responds to its critics and what lies ahead for its future…
Saints of Past Ages: How Frances Willard shaped feminism by leading the temperance movement
CHRISTOPHER H EVANS, professor of the history of Christianity at Boston University, looks – in an article published on The Conversation – at the life and legacy of a key US temperance movement leader…
Books: A church which sits where theology and migration meet
DAVID ADAMS reads a book about a rather unusual church at the US-Mexico border…
Essay: If faith leaders want to reach Gen Z, meet them in the streets
In an article published by Religion News Service, JOSH PACKARD, WILLIAM J BARBER II, AND A KAZIMIR BROWN reflect on data showing that 20 per cent of “very religious” young people in the US say they engage in acts of protest on a daily basis…
Murders of activists in Colombia fell in first half, but violence persists -ombudsman
Bogota, ColombiaReuters Murders of human rights and community activists in Colombia were down to 78 in the first half of the year, the country’s human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday, but the attacks persist. The killing of activists is a top problem for the Andean country, with President Ivan Duque vowing he will not rest […]
Restriction of civic space in Venezuela is worrying, says UN human rights chief
Caracas, VenezuelaReuters Restrictions on civic space in Venezuela remain a cause for concern, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Monday. Bachelet’s office said it documented 97 incidents of “stigmatisation, criminalisation and threats against dissenting voices, particularly towards civil society, media and members of the opposition” from June, 2020, to May, 2021. […]
Updated: Hong Kong cordons off annual Tiananmen vigil site, arrests organiser
Updated: 6pm (AEST)Hong Kong, ChinaReuters Hong Kong closed off Victoria Park where tens of thousands gather annually to commemorate China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and arrested the vigil’s organiser, in what activists see as suppression of one of the city’s key symbols of democratic hope. Thousands of officers are expected to patrol the city’s streets on […]
A place in history: Birthplace of LA’s Chicano civil rights movement earns national recognition
ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, reports on news LA’s Church of the Epiphany has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places…
Catholic priest is sentenced to time served after 2018 break-in at nuclear naval base
RNS Since his arrest nearly three years ago on trespassing charges after invading a nuclear submarine base with six others as part of a symbolic nuclear disarmament action, Rev Stephen M Kelly has been held in a Brunswick, Georgia, county jail. On Thursday, Kelly, a 71-year-old Jesuit priest, considered the leader of the group that […]
Lifestory: Celebrating Sister Ardeth Platte, anti-nuclear activist and “peacemaker in a hostile world”
In an article first published on The Conversation, CAROL SARGENT, of Georgetown University, writes about the life of activist nun Sister Ardeth Platte who died last month at the age of 84…