Not the bloodstains of a man who was crucified?

Cardinal Timothy Dolan enters Supreme Court confirmation fray: As chairman of USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, he calls for prayers that "change in the U.S. Supreme Court will move our nation closer to the day when every human being is protected in law and welcomed in life"

Not the bloodstains of a man who was crucified?: Study questions authenticity of Shroud of Turin

For “Uncle Ted,” the final cut: Latest allegations against Cardinal McCarrick represent "a seismic moment"

IRS won't punish churches engaging in politics

House votes to prevent IRS from punishing churches engaging in politics
Politico
‘I’m doing it for the babies’: Inside the ground game to reverse Roe v. Wade
The New York Times *
Man says Cardinal McCarrick, his ‘Uncle Ted,’ sexually abused him for years
The New York Times *
Pompeo to host State Department’s highest-level global meeting on religious liberty
The Washington Post *
Florida soldier says agency is blocking path to citizenship
The Associated Press
American accused of being ISIS fighter in Syria faces prosecution in U.S.
The New York Times *
Judge rules Chicago religious nonprofit exempt from unemployment taxes
Chicago Tribune *
 

International Headlines

EU leads criticism after Israel passes Jewish ‘nation state’ law
The Guardian
ADL raises alarm over Israeli democracy after nation-state bill
The Times of Israel
Cleric Sadr backs Iraq protests, calls for delay in government formation
Reuters
Philippines orders Australian nun deported and blacklisted
The Associated Press
Were occult practices behind India’s ‘house of mass hangings’?
BBC News
Chile bishop resists giving abuse report to prosecutors
The Associated Press
Pope removes Honduran bishop accused of sexual misdeeds
The Associated Press
Neil Prakash: Turkey rejects extradition of Australian jihadist
BBC News
Turkey formally arrests televangelist, scores of followers
The Associated Press
 

Analysis & Commentary

Israel just dropped the pretense of equality for Palestinian citizens
Los Angeles Times *
Christians are calling for better family leave policies. That wasn’t always the case
Vox
Branded and beaten: The children accused of witchcraft and murder
BBC News
Why Richard Dawkins thinks ‘Allahu Akbar’ sounds ‘aggressive’
The Atlantic
The dubious research on abortion-pill ‘reversal’
Slate
 

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Iranian Christian Refugees Are Still Stranded in Austria

News Iranian Christian Refugees Are Still Stranded in Austria. Are Things About to Change? Dozens of Christians and other religious minorities from the Middle Eastern country have been on a resettlement roller coaster. It just took a new turn. Griffin Paul Jackson

Around 100 Iranian refugees who were invited to resettle in the United States and then denied entry after a year of waiting in Vienna have a new hope. A federal judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California sided with the refugees, challenging the US government’s blanket ...

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U.S. Churches Exclude Children with Autism, ADD/ADHD

Study: U.S. Churches Exclude Children with Autism, ADD/ADHD Children with the greatest need for a supportive community were the most likely to feel unwelcome. David Briggs

America’s religious communities are failing children with chronic health conditions such as autism, learning disabilities, depression, and conduct disorders. And they have been doing it for a very long time, suggests a just-published national study following three waves of the National Survey of ...

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Christian discipleship affects household income

Social Sciences The ‘Protestant Work Ethic’ Really Does Fight Poverty How Christian discipleship affects household income. Lincoln Lau and Bruce Wydick

Before World War I, German sociologist Max Weber famously linked the work ethic of Protestant Christians to the economic development of Europe. The “spirit of capitalism,” he argued, was sparked by Martin Luther’s emphasis on calling and his argument that “worldly” labor was no less holy than the ascetic “spiritual” practices of monks and priests. Puritans and other Calvinists, he said, later recast that labor as an ascetic practice itself—working was ...

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Homelessness Is Spilling into Residential Neighborhoods

Black Millennials are more religious than other Millennials

How white evangelicals are outliers among US faith groups
Religion News Service: A new poll shows that when it comes to politics, white evangelical Christians stand apart from every other religious group.
The Atlantic: One country, two radically different narratives

Black Millennials are more religious than other Millennials
Pew Research: Although black Millennials tend to be less religious than older blacks, they are considerably more religious than others in their generation.

Christians are calling for better family leave policies. That wasn't always the case.
Vox: A Christian think tank makes the case for better child care policies.

Jews are protected by anti-racial-discrimination laws, Louisiana judge rules
The Washington Post: Some hail the convert football coach's case as a civil rights victory. Others say it could stir white supremacists.

How modest fashion is upending anti-Islamic bias and empowering woman of all faiths
ARDA: Why is the head scarf at the forefront of a modest fashion "movement" that is upending stereotypes and empowering women of all faiths?

Latin American bishops announce day of prayer for Nicaragua

·      Papal aides say prosperity gospel is distorted take on the ‘American Dream’

After publishing a highly controversial essay in July 2017 alleging the existence of an “ecumenism of hate” between Catholics and Evangelicals in the U.S., close papal confidantes Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ and Marcelo Figueroa in a new article issue a scathing critique of the “prosperity gospel,” which they say is based on a reductionist view of the American Dream.

·      New Arizona law awards custody of frozen embryos in favor of birth

·      On 'Humanae vitae'- Pope Paul VI did not act alone

·      University removes priest who hosted rosary of reparation for gay pride parade

·      Center for women with crisis pregancies to open in Argentina

·      New sexual abuse allegations leveled against Cardinal McCarrick

·      Catholic church in UAE to host fatherhood celebration for migrant workers

·      Latin American bishops announce day of prayer for Nicaragua

·      Government to update court on parental reunions as Catholics cite dignity of families

·      Australian PM calls for removal of archbishop convicted of not reporting abuse

·      19th-century Italian teen to be canonized during youth Synod

·      Daily Readings

·      Saint of the Day

Slowly Boiled Friendship?

Slowly Boiled Friendship?

Austin Ruse
 

There is a man named David Hart who runs what I once called “a smelly little blog” called Slowly Boiled Frog that lays waste to Christians who take public and aggressive stands against the gay agenda. He has come after me more than twenty times in recent years. This is how David introduced me to […]

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Ryszard Legutko’s Critique of Western Liberalism

Jerry D. Salyer
 

For quite some time now, American intellectuals have taken a particular interest in Poland. During the Cold War, the Polish people’s resistance to communism was held up as an example of fidelity, and Pope John Paul II’s leadership of the Church was taken to be a quintessential example of the Polish spirit. The honeymoon is […]

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“The big decline is in the Catholic schools”

“The big decline is in the Catholic schools”: Report: Demographic shift of middle-class Catholics out of urban centers and sharp decrease in numbers of priests, nuns and religious orders main culprits in large drop in enrollment

Papal confidantes denounce ‘distorted American dream’ of Prosperity Gospel: "A theological justification for economic neoliberalism"

“Unconscionable tactics to drive asylum seekers deep into the desert”: San Jose Bishop Patrick McGrath tells large crowd at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph that he is "profoundly disturbed and disheartened" by U.S. immigration policy