Pope, world religious leaders, issue pre-COP26 appeal on climate change
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis and other religious leaders made a joint appeal on Monday for next month’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to offer concrete solutions to save the planet from “an unprecedented ecological crisis”. The “Faith and Science: Towards COP26” meeting brought together Christian leaders including Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Orthodox Ecumenical […]
Pope Francis’ Japan visit fulfills lifelong missionary dream
Vatican CityRNS As a young man, Pope Francis hoped to one day become a missionary in the island nation of Japan, inspired by the Jesuit missionaries who first brought Catholicism there. Soon, the pontiff will see his youthful dream come to pass as he embarks on a weeklong apostolic visit to Thailand and Japan starting […]
Visiting Thailand, Pope Francis to champion the poor and the environment
Vatican CityRNS Thailand, a Buddhist-majority country best known for its nightlife and street food, may not look like a natural destination for a papal visit. But on closer inspection, Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to the southeast-Asian country shows how the Pope’s itineraries are shaped as much by his message of environmentalism and economic equality as […]
Christians and non-Rohingya Muslims still facing religious freedom restrictions in Myanmar, says report
Restrictions on the construction of churches and occasional incidents of violence against Christians are part of ongoing religious freedom abuses taking place in Myanmar, according to a new report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Released those week, the report from the UK-based religious freedom advocacy states that while the international community is “now well aware of […]
ESSAY: HOW OUTRAGE FOR A DEATH ROW INMATE IN THE US MAY HAVE FLIPPED SUPREME COURT JUSTICES FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
In an article first published on Religion News Service, AMANDA TYLER, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, looks at recent US Supreme Court decisions involving the issue of religious liberty…
ESSAY: FAITH AND FRIENDSHIP AS A REMEDY TO THE US OPIOID CRISIS
KATELYN BEATY, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to America’s opioid crisis…
Indonesian president invokes ‘Pancasila’ to counter rising Islamism
RNS Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a moderate Muslim who enjoys widespread support from the country’s minority religious communities, is resurrecting the country’s founding secular ideology, known as “Pancasila,” as he aims to counter the growing forces of Islamism in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Pancasila, a term from old Javanese that roughly translates […]
Sri Lankan church lives on, despite destroyed building and death threats from Buddhist monk
World Watch Monitor The leader of a Sri Lankan church destroyed by a mob earlier this month has vowed that the church will continue to meet. Kamal Wasantha, leader of the Kithu Sevana prayer centre, told Asia News, “No attack can stop us. We shall continue to meet and pray under a tree”. Despite the attack […]