Pennsylvania grand jury accuses over 300 priests

Pennsylvania grand jury accuses over 300 priests of abuse, bishops of cover-up

by Mark Dent

Philadelphia: More than 300 Pennsylvania priests were accused of committing sexual assault and their bishops covering up for them in a wide-ranging grand jury report that detailed some of the most damning accusations brought against the Catholic Church.   "There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church," the grand jury wrote in a report released today. "But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: It happened everywhere."

Boston, Lincoln open inquiries into misconduct among seminarians, priests

by Brian Roewe

Two U.S. bishops opened investigations this month following a series of online allegations reporting sexual misconduct, excessive alcohol abuse and behavior unbefitting the priesthood among seminarians and by those overseeing their development. 

Coptic monk arrested over murder of bishop in Egypt

Faith-based protesters flock to Washington to counter white supremacists
RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
Pennsylvania church abuse report, two years in works, may soon be released
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Mennonite Democrat hopes her faith helps her connect with conservative voters
THE WASHINGTON POST*
As Catholic hospitals expand, so do limits on some procedures
THE NEW YORK TIMES*
Integrating Sunday morning church service — a prayer answered
NPR
Hate speech crackdown spreads to behind-the-scenes tech
THE WASHINGTON POST*
Malcolm X. Mosque No. 7. Hotel Theresa. Remembering Harlem’s Muslim history
THE NEW YORK TIMES*
The gunman’s wife
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS*
 

International Headlines

Religion must obey Chinese law, paper says of mosque protest
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israel’s Arab minority rallies against Jewish nation-state law
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Jewish leaders question timing of EU summit
POLITICO
Egypt hands Muslim Brotherhood leader another life sentence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coptic monk arrested over murder of bishop in Egypt
THE GUARDIAN
In Thailand, ‘obesity in our monks Is a ticking time bomb’
THE NEW YORK TIMES*
Great Synagogue of Vilna in Lithuania, destroyed by Nazis, is uncovered by archaeologists
THE WASHINGTON POST*
Tunisian president proposes inheritance equality for women, with exceptions
REUTERS
 

Analysis & Commentary

Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-Semitism crisis
THE NEW YORKER*
Crumbling stone in the Western Wall exposes Jerusalem’s religious fractures
THE GUARDIAN
Why the Vatican continues to struggle with sex abuse scandals
THE WASHINGTON POST*
Evangelical purity culture taught me to rationalize my sexual assault
MOTHER JONES
Can a Yiddish ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ make it to Broadway?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL*
Traveling while Muslim: The case of the exploding chocolate
POLITICO MAGAZINE
When faith fades: Can the pope still connect with a changed Ireland?
THE GUARDIAN
 

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So, What Comes After Church Growth?

So, What Comes After Church Growth?

Characteristics of the Church Growth Movement itself present challenges to church multiplication.

Jeff Christopherson

The regrettable shortage of multiplying churches can be explained, at least in part, by the lingering implications of the wholesale adoption of business principles and pragmatic schemes that distinguished the church growth era. Today, we awaken to a church growth hangover that colors our thoughts on ...

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I’m Still Confident About ‘Confident Pluralism’

John Inazu: Why I’m Still Confident About ‘Confident Pluralism’

The past two years have only strengthened my belief that tolerance, humility, and patience can help heal our fractious public life.

John Inazu

Two years ago, I published a book called Confident Pluralism. In it, I argue that living together across our differences in this country must begin by acknowledging the depth of those differences. And our differences are indeed deep: We lack agreement about the purpose of our country, the nature of ...

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The Healing of Willow Creek

Editorial The Healing of Willow Creek Misguided loyalty harmed this historic congregation. True loyalty can redeem it. Mark Galli

In light of the resignation of its pastoral staff and elder board, it’s time to rally around Willow Creek Community Church with support and prayers. With those resignations, and the repentance they suggest, Willow has an opportunity to enter into a new fruitful season of ministry. Let’s ponder what has happened in the last few months and why, because a simplistic reading of the events will only tempt Willow—and any Christian institution in a similar crisis—to react in such ...

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Tennessee executes first prisoner since 2009

·      Teens are requesting plastic surgery to look like Snapchat filters

Social media is increasingly making teens dissatisfied with their appearance and obsessed with achieving a filtered version of “perfection,” even going so far as to pursue plastic surgery, say medical professionals.

·      Fight evil with action – not apathy, Francis says

·      Canadian bishops: Keep palliative care distinct from assisted suicide

·      Pope Francis to Italian youth: Don't live your life 'in retirement'

·      Francis continues to watch abuse response in Chile, Vatican says

·      Chile's military diocese raided in abuse investigation

·      Abuse accusations bring scrutiny for McCarrick's charity fund

·      In August, watch this meteor shower named for a saint

·      Chinese region sought to demolish mosque amid crackdown on religion

·      Vice President Pence and Cardinal Parolin discuss Nicaragua

·      As Kabila steps down, Catholics in DR Congo continue push for democracy

·      Cardinal O’Malley orders inquiry into Boston seminary, places rector on 'sabbatical'

·      Tennessee executes first prisoner since 2009, despite plea by bishops

·      A year after Charlottesville, Virginia bishops pray for end to racism

·      Diocese of Greensburg issues apology for past failings, promises to release names of accused priests

·      Daily Readings

·      Saint of the Day

Sex abuse scandals continue plaguing Catholic Church

For military families, this church aims to be manna from heaven
Religion News Service: At a time when many churches are struggling, the founder of Manna Church thinks he has found a way to keep many young military families by building a church home for them wherever they go.

As Willow Creek reels, churches must reckon with how power corrupts
Religion News Service: The shameful situation at the iconic church should inspire Christian communities everywhere to take seriously how power corrupts, and guard more vigorously against its abuse.

Sex abuse scandals continue plaguing Catholic Church
The Washington Post: With revelation after revelation, a new wave of sexual abuse scandals is rocking the Roman Catholic Church and presenting Pope Francis with the greatest crisis of his papacy.

Integrating Sunday morning church service -- a prayer answered
NPR: Churches are some of the most segregated places in America. But two pastors in Oakland are trying an experiment - to merge a white congregation and a black congregation into one house of worship, called Tapestry Church.

Crumbling stone in the Western Wall exposes Jerusalem's religious fractures
The (London) Guardian: Erosion is damaging the 2,000-year-old site -- but restoration plans have been complicated by its sacred status.

Why do some Catholics fear change?

Seven Lessons from the McCarrick Case

The World Has Little of Value to Teach the Church

James Kalb
 

I recently commented on the signs of the times, and noted that they tell us to pay more attention to eternity. The topic deserves further discussion. In the 1960s, it became common for Catholics to look to the world for guidance. That attitude inspired the widespread false belief that Saint John XXIII said the Second Vatican […]

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Seven Lessons from the McCarrick Case

Jeffrey Tranzillo
 

Following the long overdue revelations about the contemptible sexual misconduct of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, many authors have rightly expressed their indignation toward him and his episcopal enablers. In this article, I will try not to spend much time on ground already well trod, but will rather highlight some of the lessons from the McCarrick […]

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Is Silas Marner One of the Good Books?

Jonathan Shoulta
 

Although the George Eliot novel is missing from some iterations of John Senior’s list of 1,000 Good Books, Silas Marner appears in the list as it appears in Senior’s diagnostic book, The Death of Christian Culture. This is strange considering the secular and atheistic philosophies that informed the work. That this Victorian novel contains some […]

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A.W. Richard Sipe dies at 85 in La Jolla

A.W. Richard Sipe, influential voice on clergy sex abuse, dies at 85 in La Jolla: He warned San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy about depth of the problem in 2016 letter

Hollywood groups want more transgender inclusion in movies: More than 45 groups, talent agencies, and production companies have released an open letter demanding that the film industry depict transgender characters more often and in more flattering ways