NEWS OF THE WEEK
The United Nations Refugee Agency this week warned of a full-scale disaster as the number of people fleeing the violence in Syria surpassed one million. Many more have been internally displaced. Refugees are said to be leaving the country at … More
This weekend (March 11) Hindus celebrate Maha Sivaratri, which honors their deity Lord Shiva.
As if Egypt and Israel did not have enough other problems, both countries were afflicted this week by huge swarms of locusts, some of them the size of small birds. Just three weeks before Passover for Jews, Israel’s locust invasion … More
At the Vatican, the College of Cardinals is making preparations for the selection of the next pope now that Benedict XVI has officially stepped down, the first pope to do so in over 600 years. On Thursday (February 28), his … More
In Washington, as the so-called sequester neared, a coalition of close to one hundred Christian leaders urged Congress to prevent cuts to poverty programs from going into effect. In what they described as a pastoral letter, the leaders, both liberal … More
Advocates on both sides of the gay marriage debate have filed briefs in two highly anticipated Supreme Court cases. Later this month, the court will hear arguments on Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage and on the federal Defense … More
On March 2, Bahai’s begin a nineteen-day fast. They abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset and practice prayer and meditation. The time of fasting leads up to the New Year celebration, Nowruz.
On Wednesday (February 27), at the Capitol in Washington, the late Rosa Parks became the first black woman to be depicted in a full-length statue in Statuary Hall. Parks’s refusal in 1955 to give up her seat on a segregated … More
Dr. C. Everett Koop died this past week. He was a highly respected pediatric surgeon appointed by President Reagan in the early eighties to be surgeon general of the United States. Koop campaigned vigorously against smoking, with considerable success. He … More
Anticipation is growing over the selection of the next pope, following Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise announcement that he is retiring. At one of his final public appearances, Benedict asked for prayers for himself and his successor. He then entered a … More
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