Mid-City Christian: Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

Following is a brief outline of the stories Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly will be covering this week. SPECIAL NOTE: Because the show may be pre-empted in several markets due to special PBS Pledge programming scheduled through March 15, two of the following reports listed are being rebroadcast and are already available online. To see the transcript and streaming video of the studio discussion, visit our Web site after 8:30 p.m. this Friday.

FEATURED SEGMENTS

New York's New Archbishop
The Vatican announced this week that Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan will become the next Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York. Dolan, 59, will succeed Cardinal Edward Egan, who is retiring after nearly nine years in the position. He will be installed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on April 15.

Kim Lawton talks with author and longtime religion journalist David Gibson about the impact of Dolan's appointment as the new head of New York's Archdiocese and what it means for the U.S. Catholic Church.

Aging Out
Each year, approximately 20,000 18-year olds in the foster care system are released into society. According to the University of Chicago, less than two-thirds of them have completed high school. Many don't have jobs. And their rates of arrest, health problems and welfare dependency are far higher than the population as a whole. So where can they turn for help?

Mary Alice Williams reports on the efforts by two organizations — Covenant House in New York and the Reformed Church of Highland Park in New Brunswick, New Jersey — to help young adults face the challenges of this transition. “Our experience is that when somebody ages out of foster care, they do not have the skills to live on their own,” notes Bruce Henry, executive director of Covenant House. “So, within a fairly rapid period of time, they're accessing the shelter system . . . The foster care kid is terribly, terribly dependent.” (Rebroadcast from July 4, 2008)

Reverend Forrest Church
Leading Unitarian Universalist minister, author and theologian Reverend Forrest Church has served as pastor at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York for the past 30 years. He has also authored 24 books, including his most recent, “Love and Death,” in which he provides his personal perspective on issues of life and death, written after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Bob Abernethy visited Rev. Church as he celebrated his 60th birthday with his family and congregation to speak with the dying pastor about how faith is helping him through the final days of his life. “I don't pray for miracles. I don't pray to cure my incurable cancer,” Rev. Church explains. “I receive and consecrate each day that I'm given as a gift . . . God is what sustains me.” (Rebroadcast from October 3, 2008)

ONLY ONLINE

John Allen on Archbishop Timothy Dolan
Watch the National Catholic Reporter's Vatican correspondent discuss the significance of the appointment of Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee as the next Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York.

Nuclear North Korea
This week the US has been monitoring North Korean missile launch preparations. Read a 2006 Web-only report on nuclear North Korea and what religious voices have to say about nuclear proliferation.

Father Damien's Legacy
The Vatican has announced that on October 11 Father Damien, a 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to lepers in Hawaii, will become a saint. Revisit R & E's recent story on his legacy.

Gandhi's Possessions
Plans to auction off some of Mahatma Gandhi's possessions next month, including his wire spectacles, sandals, and pocket watch, have drawn widespread criticism. Read a recent Web-only excerpt on Gandhi from "Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America" by Gustav Niebuhr.

Tibetan New Year 2009
Watch R & E's 2005 story on traditional Tibetan Buddhist services and rituals to celebrate Losar or the New Year.

Juvenile Life Without Parole
An 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy charged with killing his father's pregnant fiancee has left a county jail for a juvenile facility. Revisit R & E's recent report on punishment for juveniles who commit crimes.

WHAT'S AHEAD

March 6: “Familial DNA Testing" — Lucky Severson explores the debate over the controversial use of familial DNA testing to identify criminal suspects, which critics charge is a violation of privacy rights. (Rebroadcast from May 16, 2008)

"Lourdes 150th Anniversary" — Don Kladstrup looks at the religious significance of the historic village of Lourdes in southwestern France, which has drawn millions of worldwide visitors seeking physical and spiritual healing over the last 150 years.(Rebroadcast from July 11, 2008)

ONE NATION

Hear from members of President Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

THE LIFE OF MEANING

The companion book to Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, now available in paperback in bookstores nationwide, can also be ordered through Shop Thirteen. “The Life of Meaning,” edited by the program's executive editor and host Bob Abernethy and longtime journalist William Bole, features a collection of insightful, moving and eloquent observations on life and how to live it by some of the most thoughtful men and women in America, and beyond. Among them are Desmond Tutu, Francis Collins, Marianne Williamson, Irving Greenberg, Barbara Brown Taylor, Harold Kushner, Madeleine L'Engle, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Jimmy Carter and the late William Sloane Coffin.

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