In very rare move, Pope dismisses conservative US Bishop Strickland
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis has dismissed Bishop Joseph E Strickland of Tyler, Texas, one of his fiercest critics among US Roman Catholic conservatives, a Vatican statement said on Saturday. It is very rare for a bishop to be relieved of his duties outright. Usually bishops in trouble with the Vatican are asked to resign before […]
Mexican border state: costs of ‘migrant crisis’ reach nearly $US1 billion
Mexico City, MexicoReuters The costs of spiking migration for a key Mexican border state due to a sharp downturn in US-bound cargo trucks total nearly $US1 billion over about two weeks, state officials said Tuesday, as authorities in both countries struggle with the latest surge. The state government of Chihuahua announced in a statement that […]
El Paso, Texas “at a breaking point” amid jump in migration, Mayor says
Reuters The dramatic increase in migrants crossing the US border from Mexico has pushed the city of El Paso, Texas, to “a breaking point”, with more than 2,000 people per day seeking asylum, exceeding shelter capacity and straining resources, its mayor said on Saturday. “The city of El Paso only has so many resources and […]
New frontline of US border policy? A Texas pecan farm
Eagle Pass, Texas, US Reuters The leafy trees on Magali and Hugo Urbina’s 141 hectare orchard next to the Rio Grande river in Eagle Pass, Texas, should be bursting with pecans this time of year. Instead, most are barren. The Heavenly Farms pecan orchard is seen in the background as dust rises over migrants wading […]
Left behind by disaffiliations, Texas town’s United Methodists charter a new church
Amarillo, Texas, USRNS Earlier this year, the seven United Methodist churches in this city in the Texas Panhandle voted to leave the country’s second-largest Protestant denomination over theological questions about homosexuality and gender identity. Since 2019, in a process dragged out by the COVID-19 pandemic and denominational infighting, hundreds of churches across Texas – and […]
Texas Baptists affirm women in ‘ministerial’ roles as SBC debate moves to states
United StatesRNS A month after Southern Baptists confirmed the expulsion of churches from their denomination for allowing women to serve as pastors, the Baptist General Convention of Texas adopted a statement on Tuesday urging its staff to continue to affirm women in “ministerial and leadership roles”. After half an hour of debate, the BGCT became […]
New York to distribute flyers telling migrants at US-Mexico border to ‘consider another city’
Washington DC, USReuters New York City will distribute flyers at the US-Mexico border telling newly arrived migrants to “consider another city” and limit shelter stays for adult asylum seekers to 60 days as the city’s Democratic mayor says it is straining to house them. In an announcement on Wednesday, the office of Mayor Eric Adams […]
US Catholic Bishop Strickland subject to Vatican investigation
United StatesRNS The Vatican subjected the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas, to an apostolic visitation last week, a rare disciplinary investigation by the Holy See into the diocese overseen by Bishop Joseph E Strickland, a controversial firebrand conservative cleric who has publicly criticised Pope Francis. A representative for the diocese confirmed reports of the visitation […]
In the US, breakaway Texas UMC megachurch reveals plans for new Methodist denomination
Southlake, Texas, USRNS Last year, White’s Chapel, a large congregation in a wealthy suburb outside of Dallas, overwhelmingly voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. Today, the church, which draws more than 2,000 people on a Sunday, belongs to a denomination of one, a network it is calling the Methodist Collegiate Church. White’s Chapel Methodist […]
US seeks to shore up border as migrants gather ahead of end to Title 42
San Diego, US Reuters The Biden administration and Texas state government are sending reinforcements to the US-Mexico border to prepare for a possible increase in illegal immigration when COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42 are set to end on Thursday. Hundreds of specialised investigative agents and air marshals from the US Department of Homeland Security […]