religion

The Justice Department plans to execute five people in the coming weeks. The planned executions pose a challenge to Attorney General Bill Barr's adherence to Catholic teachings, which oppose the death penalty.

Federal Executions Pit The Trump Administration Against The Catholic Church

6:22am December 10, 2020

by Tom Gjelten

Opposition to the death penalty is "a teaching that deserves our respect," says Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley. "I don't think it can be simply disregarded."

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On Tuesday, New Zealand's Royal Commission of Inquiry released its report in relation to the March 2019 attack on two Christchurch mosques. The attacks by an Australian white supremacist killed 51 people and wounded dozens of others.

New Zealand Finds Intelligence Lapses Leading To Last Year's Mosque Attacks

11:33am December 08, 2020

by Jaclyn Diaz

A Royal Commission report criticizes the country's lax gun laws, lackluster counterterrorism efforts, "fragile" intelligence agencies and ineffective leadership leading up to the attack.

British children's author Roald Dahl, as pictured in 1971. Thirty years after his death, Dahl's family has apologized for the author's anti-Semitism.

Roald Dahl Family Apologizes For Children's Author's Anti-Semitism

8:42pm December 06, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

The apology, which appeared as a note on the official Roald Dahl website, comes 30 years after the author's death.

Religion

Balancing Coronavirus Limitations With Religious Liberty

4:54pm December 06, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin discusses the tension between religious freedom and coronavirus-related restrictions with three faith leaders: Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, Rev. Thomas McKenzie and Imam Rizwan Ali.

Religion

Chicago Church Leads The Way As It Grapples With Race

7:55am December 06, 2020

by Monique Parsons

In a mostly-white suburb north of Chicago, George Floyd's killing has opened up some hard conversations. And the pastor of an historic Black church there is leading the way by telling his story.

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Religion

Buddhists Prepare To Observe Bodhi Day, When Siddhartha Gautama Became Buddha

7:53am December 05, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon asks Takashi Miyaji of the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church in Union City, Calif., about Bodhi Day on December 8.

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Bangladesh began transporting Rohingya refugees by boat to the island of Bhashan Char, with rights groups alleging people were being misled into leaving.

Bangladesh Begins Moving Displaced Rohingya Muslims To Island

5:27am December 04, 2020

by Jaclyn Diaz

The remote island of Bhashan Char was first proposed as an option to move the Rohingya in 2015. The island is potentially unsafe for inhabitants given its cyclone- and flood-prone nature.

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins speaks during a Senate hearing earlier this year. On Thursday, Collins called on religious leaders to keep their worship spaces closed, despite rising protests from some church leaders.

NIH Director Tells Churches To Do The "Altruistic, Loving Thing" And Stay Closed

9:03pm December 03, 2020

by Tom Gjelten

His comments came even as the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a federal district court to reexamine its previous support for restrictions on indoor religious services in California.

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NIH Head Suggests Churches Shouldn't Return To In-Person Worship Yet

5:03pm December 03, 2020

by Tom Gjelten

Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, told the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that churches shouldn't return to in-person worship yet.

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Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., becomes a cardinal during a ceremony Saturday known as a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Pope Francis cautioned new cardinals never to lose their connection to the people.

With Ceremony At The Vatican, Wilton Gregory Becomes 1st Black American Cardinal

6:59pm November 28, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., is among 13 church leaders elevated to cardinal at a ceremony at the Vatican on Saturday.