NEWS OF THE WEEK
The Jewish holiday of Shavuot begins at sundown on June 3. Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai. Some Jews gather in synagogues and homes to study the Torah all night long. The holiday is … More
Author, poet, and civil rights icon Maya Angelou died this week. She was 86. Angelou’s best-known work is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her memoir about growing up in the Jim Crow South. She also often wrote about … More
This is the weekend (May 24-26) of Pope Francis’s highly anticipated visit to the Middle East, where he is spending time in Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian West Bank. The pope has said this three-day trip is “strictly religious,” but … More
A UN panel has criticized the Vatican for its failure to respond to the clergy sex abuse crisis. The report from the United Nations Committee against Torture catalogues a number of missteps, such as not requiring that abuse be reported … More
Prayers and protests continued on behalf of the nearly 300 Nigerian girls kidnapped last month by the Boko Haram terrorist group. Frustration has mounted over the Nigerian government’s response, which protesters say has been too little and too late. On … More
International outrage also continues to grow in the case of a pregnant woman in Sudan who faces execution for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Last week a Sudanese court convicted Meriam Ibrahim of apostasy and ruled that her marriage … More
There were prayers around the world for victims of heavy floods in the Balkans, the worst there in more than a century. The floods have taken lives in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, and forced tens of thousands more to flee … More
Amid some controversy, the 9/11 Memorial Museum opened to the public this week in New York. That space, deep underground, is considered sacred by many visitors, some of whom complained that it is no place for a gift shop: “I … More
More evidence this week that many Americans exaggerate their church attendance: In a new study called “I Know What You Did Last Sunday,” the Public Religion Research Institute found that those surveyed were more likely to admit they seldom or … More
American support for gay marriage is at an all-time high: 55 percent, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll confirms the growing acceptance of gay marriage is particularly strong among those 18-29. The news came as bans on same-sex … More
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